A Mother's Letter
by oro kenshin
Summary: AU & someOOC - Fourteen years ago he had made the mistake of choosing her over Kagome. Now with the help of his daughter and a letter from his deceased wife, Inuyasha has a chance at happiness again, but will Kagome still love him after so many years?
1. Her Bithday, the Past, the Mission

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor have I ever owned Inuyasha. It's a sad truth….

**Summary: **It had been _fourteen years_ since he'd seen her. It'd been _fourteen years_ since her name had been mentioned in his house. Then one fateful day, Inuyasha's past catches up with him. With the help of his daughter, can Inuyasha recover the love that was once lost? Or, after that long wait, is it possible that the love has been lost forever?

(**Author's Note: **Mieoko and Niko are my own characters)

**Chapter 1: Her Birthday, and The Past**

She sat on her window sill. The sun was setting and it left a warm glow throughout her room. In her hand were several sheets of paper. She looked out her window at the setting sun. A small breeze blew past her, and rustled the papers in her hand. She looked down at the papers. She tucked some of her loose hair behind her ear and stared thoughtfully at the paper. They contained the last words her mother had for her; it was her mother's good bye letter.

Her mother had died giving birth to her. She couldn't say it was her fault. Her mother knew she was going to die. She had been too sick to have a child, but she had wanted to leave her father with someone to love him and take care of him.

Her mother had known as soon as she found out she was pregnant that her life was going to be cut short. She had felt bad knowing that she wouldn't be able to be there for her daughter, so she got a brilliant idea of leave her daughter with letters. These letters were to be given to her on her birthday until her thirteenth birthday.

Every birthday that she could possibly remember started with her mother's letter. She could care less about the rest of the presents that were offered her on her birthday; it was all about the letter.

This year was different from the past years. This year would be the last year she'd receive a letter on her birthday. She didn't know what to expect that morning when she was handed her letter, but she never would've expected what she read.

"Kanna, dear," an older voice called from the doorway. She looked up. It was her nanny, Kaede.

"Yes nana?" Kanna said, folding her papers in half.

"It's time to get ready for bed," Kaede said smiling at the little girl.

"Aw," Kanna whined. "Do I have to?"

"Yes sweetie," Kaede said going to her drawers to pull out Kanna's pajamas. "Your father's rules, nothing we can do about that." She started picking up the toys that were all over Kanna's bed.

"Aw, Come on nana," Kanna continued. "It's my birthday though!"

Kaede sighed. "Okay," she began. "I have to go get something from a neighbor, and then I have to clean the mess in the living room." Kanna grimaced. "When I finish I expect you to be in bed." Kaede got up and left. Kanna just smiled. Kaede was absolutely the best person in the world.

Kanna sat on her window sill and watched Kaede walk down the block. She looked back down at the papers folded in her hands. She got up and made her way to her bed. She lay on her stomach and began re-reading the letter.

It read:

_Dearest daughter,_

_It is now your thirteenth birthday. Happy Birthday Baby! You must be so big now! I know you've made your father very proud. You've made me proud too, my precious little girl. Well I shouldn't say little, you're a teenager now! Time goes by so fast don't you think? Before you know it you'll be driving and have a family of your own. For the past twelve years you've been getting a letter from me. All of my previous letters contained advice about life, what to do, what not to do. This letter, my last letter, will be different though. This letter will be a story, a true story. I think you should know the truth about your father, myself, and a young lady by the name of Kagome Hirugashi…_

Kanna stared at that name for a while. It sounded so familiar to her. Then it hit her. She ran to her desk and began looking for the magazine she'd received in the mail two days prior. She found it and read the cover. It read: _Kagome Hirugashi's Secret to staying in Shape_. Kanna ran back to the letter that she had left on her bed. Did her mother mean that Kagome? Did her dad know Kagome Hirugashi, one of the world's most beautiful models?

She continued reading:

_I want you to know that what Kagome did was the ultimate sacrifice. It was my fault. Had I never decided to go to that college, I never would've ruined the happiness of a young girl. You see, I was introduced to Kagome a year and a half before you were born. She was going to help me around the school. She was my guide. She introduced me to all of her friends: Sango, Miroku, Kouga, and Ayame. Lastly she introduced me to your father. I fell in love with him from the moment I met him, but I could see that Kagome already loved him. She never admitted it, but it was obvious that they both loved each other. You could see it in their eyes, and the way they fooled around with each other, it was obvious that they were deeply in love…_

"Kanna," she heard her father's voice called out from down stairs. "You'd better be in bed young lady!"

"I am!" Kanna called back as she scurried around her room trying to get everything ready. She crawled under the covers just as her dad opened the door.

"You're getting faster," Inuyasha said as he sat on the edge of her bed. He pulled the covers off of her head and smiled. Kanna refused to say anything. She had her eyes shut tight and her lips pressed hard, but a smile was slowly creeping onto her face. "Good night pipsqueak," Inuyasha said throwing the covers over his daughter's face. "No lights after ten, got it?" He got up and walked out of her room.

"Good night, dad," Kanna called after her dad. She heard him chuckle and smiled. As soon as she had given him time to go down the stairs, she grabbed her flashlight and returned to her letter.

She read:

_Kagome and Inuyasha met during their first year of college. They both were studying to be veterinarians. It was actually very cute considering your father is part dog. It was very amusing. They were both part of the kendo and archery club, and they quickly became friends. Had you met them, you would've thought that they had known each other since they were children…_

"Inuyasha," he heard someone call from behind. "Wait for us!" He turned to see Kagome and her dog, Mieoko, running towards him and his dog Niko.

"Kagome," Inuyasha moaned playfully.

"What," Kagome said putting on her best child face. "Do you not want us around?" She gave Mieoko's leash a small tug, signaling him to give Inuyasha a cute whine. The two, owner and dog, gave Inuyasha their best puppy eyes. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes.

"Yay!" Kagome said throwing her arms around Inuyasha's neck. "You do want us around!" She petted his silky white hair. "You're such a good boy."

Inuyasha gave her a playful growl, but Kagome just laughed and backed away.

"Oh," she laughed. "I'm so scared!"

"You should be," Inuyasha said in a playful voice. "Sick her boy!" He said to Niko. His dog barked playfully and jumped onto Kagome.

"Ah," Kagome cried, surprised. "Mieoko help me!" Mieoko began to bark happily at Niko. Niko stopped licking Kagome's face and pounced on Mieoko. The two dogs began wrestling.

"Come on, Niko," Inuyasha cheered. "You can kick his butt!"

"Let's Go Mieoko!" Kagome cheered happily. "Let's show them who the tougher dog is!"

Mieoko pinned Niko to the ground. Kagome cheered and Inuyasha pouted.

"Okay," Kagome said pulling her dog. "Get off of him." She picked up the dog's leash and waited for Inuyasha. "So what's on the agenda for today?" she asked her dog demon companion.

"Well," Inuyasha said thoughtfully. "The Kendo club is meeting today at 10:30. Wanna go?"

"Sure," Kagome replied as the made their way to the park. "You're overdue for a good butt whooping."

Inuyasha chuckled. "You don't think you can beat me now do you?"

"Like hell I can!" Kagome said smiling. The two grabbed their dogs and made their way back to their own dorms.

"I'll see you later," Inuyasha said as they parted.

"Mua!" she said as she blew a friendly kiss at him.

"Yuck," he said wiping his cheek. He laughed, "Now I have Kagome germs!"

"Oh," Kagome said with fake anger. "Go away you silly puppy!"

The two parted ways. They had an hour to get ready for the club meeting. Kagome could hardly wait. She quickly changed into her little fighting outfit.

"Gonna go fight with Inuyasha," her friend appeared at the door. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yep," Kagome said smiling as she went over to her friend and picked the little kitten off her shoulder. "I'm gonna kick his butt today." She snuggled with the kitten and took her to the bed. She placed her down gently next to the sleeping Mieoko.

"Be careful," her friend said as she sat down next to the sleeping dog and the now sleeping cat. "Don't overdue it again."

"Don't worry, Sango," Kagome said going to her bed and sitting next to her. "He won't hurt me. He knows I'm a human." They both laughed.

"Yes," Sango said getting up. "You're right, but still, be careful." She got up and walked out of the room. Kagome followed and closed the door behind her.

"You gonna watch?" Kagome asked, catching up to her friend.

Sango smiled. "Of course I am! I gotta cheer you on!"

"Yay!" Kagome cheered. The two laughed and ran out to go meet their friend.

They arrived at the gym where the kendo club was meeting. Inuyasha was waiting outside by the door. He was wearing his favorite baggy red pants and a loosely fit white t-shirt. The two girls ran over to him.

"Hey Inny," Kagome greeted him. Sango and Kagome laughed at his reaction. His ears flattened against his head and an annoyed expression crossed his face.

"Come on," he sounded annoyed. "We're up first."

"Really?" Kagome sounded surprised. She was even more surprised to find that no one was there. "Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha smirked. "Come on Kags," Kagome glared at him. "Let's see what you got!" He tossed a boken at her.

"You're goin' down, dog-boy," Kagome whispered threateningly.

"Bring it," Inuyasha called.

Kagome charged at him. When she fought against him, she never followed the rules or styles. Her main goal was to beat the crud out of Inuyasha. Inuyasha was fully prepared for her on coming charge. He easily threw her off. Kagome fell and landed on her rear. She got up quickly.

"Inuyasha!" he heard their only viewer called. "Play fair!"

"I know," he whispered.

Kagome charged at him again. He blocked her attacks again. He went in for an attack. He swung his bokken and hit her in the ribs. He had hit her softly, but it was still too hard for her. She fell and stayed curled up on the floor.

"Kagome!" Sango called as she ran over to her friend. "Kagome are you okay?"

She moaned.

"Kagome," Inuyasha whispered.

She moaned again and lifted one hand to shoo him away. Sango and Inuyasha laughed.

"Come on, Kagome," Sango said helping her friend up. "You've had enough for today." She threw Inuyasha a dirty look.

"Sango…" he began but hesitated.

"Sango leave him alone," Kagome said as she managed to stand on her own. "He didn't mean to hit me that hard. It was actually one of the softest hits he's landed on me."

Inuyasha gave her a grateful and apologetic smile.

Sango looked from one to the other and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Kagome," she said grabbing her friend's arm. "Like I said, you've had enough for today." She turned to look at Inuyasha. "Pizza Palace at seven then?"

Inuyasha beamed. "Sure! I'll even take Miroku."

Sango blushed. Kagome laughed. Sango turned and began walking towards the door.

"Bye," she said holding up a hand and waving.

Inuyasha smiled. "See ya, Sang," Inuyasha replied. He turned to Kagome, "Lunch?"

Kagome shook her head. "Can't," she said and Inuyasha frowned. "I have something to do, but I will be at Pizza Palace at seven tonight."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Fine, but you owe me lunch then."

Kagome smiled. "Okay," she replied and turned to walk away.

She heard Inuyasha sigh from behind her.

She kept walking towards the door, but whispered something that she knew he would hear. "After that we can have a rematch."

Inuyasha smiled and called out. "I'll go easy on you!"

Kagome laughed and as she reached the door she turned to look at him. He had his cocky smile on. She laughed and blew him a kiss.

This time instead of wiping it off his face, he outstretched his hand and caught it. He looked at his hand, then at her and smiled. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He put his hand that held her kiss and put it on his cheek.

"I'll see you later," he mouthed and turned to walk out the other door.

Kagome's cheeks were beat red as she walked back towards her dorm. Then she remembered that she was to meat up with the dean.

'Crap,' she mentally cursed herself. She turned and sprinted over to the office building. She burst through the doors of the building. 'Damn,' she thought as she ran. 'His office has to be on the third floor in the building where the stairs are located at one end of a long hall. When they built this building, they so were planning against me.'

She ran past the secretary and straight into the office. There were two people there staring wide-eyed at her. She turned red again; she had just realized how messy she looked and how rude she had just been.

"I am so sorry," Kagome apologized as she undid her messy ponytail letting her hair fall. She quickly pulled it back into a neat ponytail. "I was practicing kendo in the gym, and I completely forgot about this meeting."

She heard a hearty laugh. She looked up at the dean.

"It is okay, Kagome," he said laughing. "Allow me to introduce my niece, Kikyou Makato." He waved a hand at his niece. She was standing in front of the chair that faced him. She smiled timidly at Kagome.

"It's nice to meet you, Kagome," she said bowing slightly.

"It's nice to meet you too," Kagome smiled at her. 'She seems to be a girl,' she thought to herself. Kagome turned to face the dean again. "Did I interrupt something?" She asked him.

"Not at all," he said smiling. "We were just waiting for you."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," Kagome said looking from him to Kikyou with a confused look on her face.

"The reason I wanted to have this meeting was because I have a favor to ask of you," the dean said, his expression becoming very serious.

"Um," Kagome said unsure. "Okay I guess."

"Would you be so kind as to help my niece around the school?"

"That's it?" Kagome asked a small smile on her face. "That's not a problem."

"Wonderful," the dean said smiling. "I would like you to stay with her for a few days so that she can get accustomed to the way things go around here."

"Sure thing, sir," Kagome said her smile growing a bit more.

"One more thing, Kagome," the dean said his face becoming serious again.

Kagome gave him a wary look. Something about the way he said that made her wonder if she really wanted to agree to what he was about to say.

"She needs a place to live," he gave her a pleading look. "I know you like not having a roommate, but would you mind reconsidering?"

"What?" Kagome said staring at him.

"Please, Kagome?" he was begging. "She needs a place to stay and there's no one else who needs a roommate."

Kagome glared at him. She thought of her dog and Sango's cat that were probably still sleeping on her bed. She didn't have a roommate so the other half of the room belonged to the animals: Mieoko (her dog), Niko (Inuyasha's dog), and Kirara (Sango's cat). If she got a roommate, the animals wouldn't have a place to stay anymore when their owners were out.

"I'm sorry sir," Kagome began carefully. "I don't think that she can move in anytime soon." She watched his expression. She couldn't read it.

"Kagome," he said his voice cold. "You are aware that there is a strict 'No Pets' Policy in the dorms, correct?"

Kagome stared wide-eyed at him. 'Crap,' she thought. 'Does she know?'

"What are you saying?" Kagome asked pretending she had no idea what he was talking about.

He gave her a small smile and turned to his phone. "Ms. Taymi," he said looking at Kagome. "Can you please send our friends in?"

"Right away, sir," she replied. In a matter of minutes the door opened and in bound Mieoko, Niko, and being carried in Sango's arms was Kirara.

"I'm sorry, Kagome," she apologized. "They caught me walking out of your dorm with Kirara." Sango looked as though she was actually going to cry. Kagome could understand why though, Sango loved Kirara just as much as she (Kagome) loved Mieoko.

"You see Miss Kagome," the dean said causing Kagome to turn and face him. "We can overlook this small incident if you can graciously provide my niece a place to stay."

Kagome looked angrily at the dean. She then shifted her angry look at Kikyou. It softened a bit when she saw her embarrassed face and a silly Mieoko sniffing her.

"Mieoko," she called softly. His ears perked up and his tail wagged. He made his way over to her. Niko, who had been sniffing the dean, went over to Kagome as well. She pulled two leashes out of her pocket. Out of habit she carried the leashes with her; she never knew when they would be needed. She put the dogs on their leashes and looked at the dean.

"So what your saying is either I give your niece a place to stay, or me and my dogs have got to go?" Kagome said icily.

"Yes," he said a small glint of victory in his eyes. "If you could do that, I'm sure we could just overlook the fact that you, Mr. Takashi, and Miss Taijiya, here all have pets. Pets which might I add pose a threat to anyone near them."

With his last comment said, Sango and Kagome's anger reached its high point.

"They are not dangerous at all," Sango said; her voice cold sending chills up Kikyou's spine.

"They don't pose a threat to anyone at all," Kagome's voice sounded deadly. Even Mieoko whined. Both dogs had their tails down and the cat had nestled herself between her two giant guardians.

"Never say they are a threat to anyone," Sango warned. With that said Sango walked over to Kagome and took the leashes. She picked up Kirara and made her way to the door. "I'll wait for you outside." She said to Kagome and left without saying another word.

"Uncle," Kikyou finally spoke up. "Please, I would rather not intrude on Kagome. Maybe I could just stay with you and auntie?"

"No," he said firmly standing up and walking over to her. "Your parents wanted me to give you a normal college life, and that includes living in a dorm."

"But…" she began but was interrupted by Kagome.

"Come on," she said walking over to her. "I've heard enough. Just get your stuff so we can go. I don't think the dogs like being tied up outside." That being said, Kagome turned and walked out of the office.

"I didn't think she would ever give in," the dean said returning to his seat. "She is the best student on campus. That's why I wanted you to become friends with her. She will have you fitting in in no time at all."

Kikyou looked at her uncle then at the door through which Kagome had left. She was bothered. It was going to take a while before Kagome would even accept her offer of friendship. Her uncle had just broken any chance she had of becoming friends with Kagome, or anyone else on campus for that matter.

Kagome walked outside of the office building. She was extremely angry. She was so angry she didn't realize at first that someone was standing next to the dogs.

"Well," Kagome's head snapped up and she found herself looking at Inuyasha. "What happened?"

Kagome sighed. "We can keep the dogs and cat," she said smiling at Sango who was looking at her with hopeful eyes. Kagome put a hand on Mieoko's head. "We just gotta clean up their side of the dorm."

"I'll get to work on that," Sango said putting Kirara on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it Kagome. Just go tend to Kikyou."

Kagome gave Sango a small smile. Inuyasha untangled the two leashes.

"I'll take Niko back with me so he won't be a nuisance," he rustled his dog's fur. "I'll see you at dinner." He gave her a dazzling Inuyasha smile and she blushed.

"See you later guys," she said smiling at them both, her cheeks still a light shade of pink. They both turned and walked away. Kagome sighed and faced the office building. There Kagome saw Kikyou standing by the doors of the large building. She had her purse in her hand but no suitcase full of stuff.

"Come on," Kagome said rather reluctantly. She gave Mieoko's leash a small tug, letting him know that they'd be leaving soon. He lifted his head lazily and saw the approaching figure. He could sense Kagome's dislike of this person, so he let out a low growl. The approaching figure stopped and looked worriedly at the dog.

"Don't worry," Kagome said and looked down sternly at Mieoko. "Be nice," she said icily. She looked back up at Kikyou. "Come on," she said trying to give Kikyou a convincing smile. "There's a lot to see and so little time." She could see the worried look as she went up to Kagome. Mieoko was still very intimidating to her. "Don't worry; He'll be on his best behavior." She looked down at the dog. "Right?"

Kagome turned and dragged Mieoko away. Kikyou followed.

"I'm so sorry, Kagome," she said quietly. She was looking down at the ground. "My uncle… I just never thought… It was so wrong… He never should've…. I'm sorry." She struggled for words. It was obvious that she was embarrassed by her uncle's behavior.

"Don't worry," Kagome said looking over at Kikyou, "As long as Mi, Nick, and Ki-Ki, are okay then alls good."

Kikyou looked over at her and smiled. "Thanks," she said lifting her head.

Kagome frowned inwardly. She was actually beginning to like this girl. That was a problem, but she'd deal with that later. For now she would just deal with it…

_I could really tell she was having a difficult time trying to be nice to me. I couldn't help but feel horrible. I was ruining Kagome's life. I was also hated by her friend and your father. Those were my initial thoughts. I was determined to become friends with Kagome no matter what…_

"Kanna," she heard Kaede from the doorway. "You really have to go to sleep now, sweetie."

"Okay nana," Kanna replied. She put the letter underneath her pillow. She would have to finish the letter tomorrow.

"Good night Kanna," Keade said as she closed the door.

"Night," Kanna yawned and within seconds she was dreaming with her mother, her father, and Kagome…

**-&-**

Kanna yawned and covered her face with her pillow. The sun was peeking in through her curtains. He doggy ears twitched as she heard the movement going on down stairs. She knew it was time to get up.

She sat up and looked around her room. She ran her fingers through her raven colored hair. At that particular moment, Kaede walked in.

"Good morning, Kanna," she smiled and went over to her window. Kaede pulled them open.

"Ah," Kanna complained as she let herself fall back onto her pillow. "I hate mornings."

"Yes," Kaede chuckled. "I know you do." She picked up a toy that had fallen from Kanna's bed. "Would you like breakfast up here today?" she asked the child.

"Um," Kanna said thoughtfully sitting up. "Sure, I'd like that." She turned to face Kaede. "Would daddy allow that?"

A sneaky smile appeared on Kaede's face. "Your father isn't here."

Kanna understood and smiled. Her father was going to be out of town today so it meant fun time the whole day. Kaede left and Kanna stretched. She remembered her mother's letter under her other pillow and she got it out.

It read:

_My uncle had told her to give me a tour of the campus, and that's what Kagome did. She dragged me around for the rest of the day pointing out every little detail. I think even poor Mieoko was tired by the time we reached Kagome's dorm room…_

"Well," Kagome said unlocking the door. "Home sweet home," she took Mieoko's leash off as she opened the door and he bounded in. "Mi," she said as she hung her stuff on the coat rack. "My bed only." Mieoko looked up at her with his confused eyes. "That's Kikyou's bed now," she said in answer to his silent question. She turned to look at Kikyou. "Make yourself at home. I have to get ready."

Kikyou went in and sat on the bed opposite Kagome's. She looked around the room. On Kagome's bed there was a pile of posters and pet toys. Kagome saw her staring at them.

"They were all originally on your side of the room," Kagome explained. "But Sango cleaned them up so you could decorate your half however you want."

"Oh," Kikyou replied simply.

"Well," Kagome said grabbing her towel and change of clothes. "I'm gonna take a quick shower." She looked at Mieoko. "Be good." Then she walked out the door and down the hall to the showers.

Kagome returned to find that Kikyou had changed clothes and was sitting Indian style on her bed. Mieoko was watching her carefully. Kagome's phone startled all three of them.

"Hello?" Kagome said as she answered it. She listened, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Sure, bring him over. I'm sure Mieoko will be happy to see him." She smiled mischievously. "No, problem," she hung up the phone and smiled at Kikyou.

"What?" Kikyou asked.

"Inuyasha is coming over," she smiled. "He's bringing his dog, Niko." Her smile grew when she saw the look that came on her face. She was scared. "You don't mind staying with the two dogs right?"

"Well," Kikyou began. Kagome smiled; she knew Kikyou couldn't say 'no'.

"Great," Kagome said smiling. "You'll like them a lot." She jumped on her own bed next to Mieoko. "I think Sango will probably bring Kirara too."

"Well, Kagome…" she said looking at her. Then there was a knock at the door.

"I think that's him," she jumped down from her bed and opened the door. Standing there was Sango and Inuyasha, their pets trailing behind them. As soon as the door opened, they ran in and jumped on Kagome's bed.

"Well," Inuyasha said smiling, "They're gonna have fun." With that said he grabbed Kagome by the hand and tugged her out of the room.

"Have fun," Kagome called as she closed the door.

"Bye," Kikyou whispered as she watched the door close. All three animals were watching her intently.

--

"Did you see the look on her face?" Sango laughed as the group sat around the table. "She was completely mortified."

Inuyasha had an arm around Kagome. The two were laughing their head off. Sango sat next to Miroku. The two were very close, but Miroku didn't dare put his arm around her.

"I feel kinda bad for her though," Kagome said thoughtfully. Everyone stared at her then their whole table roared with laughed.

"What have we missed?" Said a familiar voice, they all looked up and saw Ayame and Kouga standing there.

"Pull up some chairs and join us," Kagome said still laughing. They filled them in on Kagome's new roommate.

"You left her with Mieoko and Niko?" Kouga asked shocked. Kagome nodded sheepishly.

"You should give her a call to make sure she's okay," Ayame said.

Kagome looked at her and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she pulled out her phone and dialed the dorm. "It's ringing," Kagome announced.

"Hello?" Everyone at the table watched her silently, but still smiling. "Yea, it's me, Kagome," there was silence again. " Ha," Kagome laughed. "Do me a favor get the new girl," Kagome said. "Thanks."

They all waited while the person went to get Kikyou…

"Hey there," Kagome said cheerfully. She was quiet for a bit. "Great," Kagome said smiling. "And how are you doing?" She waited, shock becoming evident on her face. "Really?" she asked unconvinced. "That's great," her friends noticed her lie. She was never a good liar. "Well," Kagome said wanting to hang up already. "We'll be back soon. Take Care now, bye bye." She flipped her phone closed.

"What's wrong?" Miroku asked.

"Well," Kagome said, "She's not intimidated by Mieoko anymore."

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked looking down at her.

"She's befriended Mieoko and Kirara," Kagome replied.

"What about Niko?" Sango asked.

"He stays as far away from her as he possibly can," Kagome replied with a smile. "She says that he growls at her if she gets to close." They all laughed.

The rest of the night went uneventfully. They ate, cursed at the evil professor, Naraku, and laughed. It was around midnight when they finally decided it was time to leave the pizza place. They walked down the sidewalk, the whole group smiling and laughing, Kagome next to Inuyasha, Sango next to Miroku, and Ayame next to Kouga.

"Wanna go catch a movie?" Inuyasha whispered into Kagome's ear.

She looked up at him then at her friends. She smiled, "We could all go and sit in a dark movie theater, eating chocolate kisses."

"I like that idea," Inuyasha whispered back.

"Hey guys," Kagome said as she stopped and turned to look at the group. "Shall we go catch a movie?"

Sango looked at Kagome and smiled. "I'd love to, what about you Miroku?" She smiled at him and he gulped.

"Sure," Miroku said putting an arm around Sango's waist. He pulled her close and whispered, "I'd love to."

"Save it for the movies," Ayame said laughing. "Let's go."

"What movie?" Kouga asked.

The girls all smiled. "Anything that's out," Kagome replied.

They made their way over to the movies. It ended at half past two in the morning. The boys went to the girls dorm to drop them off.

"Let's drop Kags off first," Inuyasha said as he carried the tired Kagome on his back. She buried her head in his silvery hair.

"Aw," she said, her voice muffled. "Do we have to?"

"Yes," Inuyasha said, a smile evident in his voice. "I wanna meet this Kikyou person in person."

"Fine," Kagome sighed. She was too tired to argue with him.

They arrived at Kagome's room. Before Kagome could even hop down from Inuyasha's back, the door was opened. The whole group stared at the girl standing in the doorway. Only Kagome getting knocked down by Mieoko and Niko bought them out of their somewhat trace.

"Are you okay?" They all asked as Inuyasha helped Kagome up.

"I'm so sorry," Kikyou apologized. "See, they woke me up and went to the door. I should've been more careful, I'm so sorry."

"I'm okay," Kagome said as she brushed invisible dust off her butt. Then she remembered, "Let me introduce you." She said everyone's name and pointed. "That's Sango, he's Miroku, he's Kouga, she's Ayame, and him," she pointed at Inuyasha. "He's Inuyasha."

Kikyou bowed slightly to each of them as they were introduced. She blushed slightly when she met Inuyasha's gaze.

"Well," Inuyasha said smiling at both ladies. "We must drop our other lady friend's at their rooms. " The group waved good bye to Kagome and she walked into her room with Mieoko at her side.

Kagome plopped herself on her bed and Mieoko joined her. She was tired. It had been one long day. Her friends had made it worth it though.

"So Kagome," Kikyou said sitting on her bed. "How was your evening?"

Kagome sat up. "It was great! We had pizza at the Pizza Palace then we went to catch that new movie." She flopped back on her bed.

"That Inuyasha guy," Kikyou began. "Is he… is he your boyfriend?"

Kagome sat up so quickly that her head spun. "What!"

"Is Inuyasha your boyfriend?" Kikyou asked again. She was getting a kick out of this.

"Well," Kagome began, her blush extremely evident on her cheeks. "We aren't really together… he's my best friend." Kikyou didn't believe a word of it, but she let it drop. "I'm kinda tired," Kagome said. "Good night."

_I could tell she was lying to me. She didn't want to admit her love, so I wasn't going to push it. After that night, Kagome seemed to warm up to me a bit. The school year seemed to go by pretty quickly. It was March of that year that your father asked me out on our first date…_

Inuyasha was sitting on Kagome's bed watching her work. He normally did this when he had nothing to do. He could sit there for hours watching her work. Today, though, he had something on his mind.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said hesitantly.

"Hm," Kagome acknowledged him.

"You're a girl, so you'd know…" Inuyasha was struggling to get to his point.

"Yes, I am a girl, but what am I supposed to know?" Kagome asked without looking up at him. She kept working on her report.

"Where would a girl want to go for a real date?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome laughed. "That depends on the girl," Kagome said. She looked at him and held in a laugh when she saw who red his face was. "Who is it?"

Inuyasha looked her in the eye and when his gold eyes met her chocolate colored ones, he immediately dropped his head.

"It's Kikyou," he said quietly. He refused to look up at her.

Kagome stared. She felt her heart breaking. Had he seen her face and eyes, he would've seen so much pain there. Thankfully for Kagome, he didn't look up and gave Kagome time to compose her face. After a few moments, he finally looked up. Her expression was unreadable.

"Well," Kagome said when she thought she was able to finally speak. She put on a thoughtful face. "I really can't help you there, Inny. Kikyou and I have completely different opinions on what we like. She may prefer a more fancy dinner. I can't name a good one because I don't know any."

"Oh," Inuyasha said sounding a bit let down. "Thanks anyway Kags."

Kagome was a sucker for Inuyasha's sad face. "But," she said closing her book. "We can look around town for a good restaurant."

Inuyasha looked up at her. "Really?" He smiled. "Thanks Kagome."

_They spent the whole day looking for a restaurant that I would like. In the end Kagome made the perfect choice for a restaurant. It was called Heaven's Guard. It was my absolute favorite restaurant ever! You should have your father take you there. Well, that night was the best night of my life. Inuyasha asked me to be his girlfriend and I guess that was when the changes began to happen. Kagome became distant to everyone. _

Kagome sat on her bed listening to music. Exams were around the corner and she desperately needed to study. Sango had told her to take a break, but Kagome had refused. Her phone rang and she looked to see who it was. It was Sango.

"Hello Sango, dear," Kagome said turning down the music and throwing a pillow at Mieoko to shut him up.

"_Kagome?"_

"Yes," she said.

"_Well, we're all sitting here, and well, we're kinda missin' you."_

"Aw," Kagome replied putting on a kind voice despite the fact that she was pissed at her. She couldn't understand why she was mad though. "I miss you all too! I have so much work to do though," she lied. She had basically memorized the whole book.

"_Come on Kagome," _she sounded like she was begging. "_Please come. We're going to the mall right now. Say you'll meet us there."_

'Damn,' Kagome thought. 'There go my plans for the day.' Kagome had indeed planed to go to the mall.

"_Kagome?"_ Sango's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Huh," Kagome said.

"_Meet us there?" _Sango asked.

"We'll see," Kagome replied. "Good bye, Sango." She hung up before Sango said her good bye.

Sango on the other line seemed a bit upset.

"Well…" Inuyasha prompted,

"She said 'we'll see'," Sango replied.

"That's a 'no'," Miroku said to himself.

"How would you know that?" Inuyasha questioned. Everyone in the car leaned as close as possible to him.

"Because," he said smiling. "Whenever she didn't want to do something Inuyasha wanted, she'd always say 'we'll see'."

Sango, Ayame, and Kouga nodded in agreement.

"Feh," Inuyasha retorted. "She never said that."

"Well," Sango began. "What about the time when you two were at the mall, and you wanted to go to that car show…"

"Shut up," Inuyasha interrupted her.

The group laughed at the glaring hanyou. They were right though. When Kagome said 'we'll see', it always meant 'no'…

-**&-**

"Here's your breakfast Kanna," Kaede said as she placed the tray of food in front of her. "Put the letter down and eat."

"Aw," Kanna laughed as she put down the letter. "It's mother's best letter."

Kaede smiled at her. "Enjoy your breakfast," she said and walked out of the room.

Kanna grabbed the remote for the TV and turned it on. She didn't bother to see what was on, she took a bite out of her breakfast and continued reading…

**-&-**

Kagome lay on her back staring up at the ceiling. She knew that Sango and Miroku would understand that she wasn't going to go.

"I still want to go shopping," she whispered into the air. Mieoko lifted his head and looked at her. "Now what can I do today?"

She sighed. 'Another boring day in the life of Kagome Hirugashi.'

_That night, after a fun filled day of shopping, Inuyasha took me out to dinner. It was an incredibly nice restaurant. When we arrived there, I was surprised to find everyone there as well. Even Kagome was standing there. I was completely jealous of her. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her black dinner dress, and I looked so plain._

"Kagome," Kikyou said staring at her. "I didn't know you were going to come."

Kagome looked down at her hands. "I wasn't planning on it."

"We had to drag her over here," Ayame chirped in.

"Thank you," Kikyou said smiling. "I'm glad you dragged her over."

"Come on," Inuyasha said opening the door, "Our table is waiting."

They all walked in. Kagome walked in last. She was still debating whether she should turn and leave right now or whether she should stay and find out what Inuyasha wanted.

_There was an uncomfortable silence as we waited at the table. I sat next to Inuyasha, Sango next to Inuyasha and Miroku, Ayame sat next to Miroku and Kouga, Kagome sat next to Kouga and myself. When our food did arrive, we ate in silence. Kagome then excused herself and gave us a reassuring smile. I got up and followed her…_

"Kagome," Kikyou walked into the powdering room. She found Kagome sitting on a cushioned seat reapplying her makeup.

Kagome looked up. Surprise crossed her face when she realized it was Kikyou who had called her name.

"Oh," Kagome said looking away, "Hello there Kikyou."

"Are you mad at me?" Her question caught Kagome off guard.

"Excuse me?" Kagome asked.

"Are you mad at me?" Kikyou asked again, taking a seat next to Kagome.

"What in the world could make you think that?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know," Kikyou said looking down at her hands. "You just…"

"I just," Kagome prompted.

"You just seem so distant," Kikyou finished her statement. "When we first met, you always were going out with your friends. You eventually included me in your outings. You always were smiling and having fun." She now looked Kagome in the eyes. "Then when Inuyasha asked me out, you slowly started going away, claiming you were to busy, or saying you just didn't want to."

"Kikyou," Kagome interrupted.

"Let me finish," she said holding a finger up. "You never want to hang out with friends anymore. Sango is upset about it." Her face was pained. "What did I do to make you become distant from everyone? What did I do?"

Kagome looked at her. "You did nothing," she lied. She wasn't about to tell her that she had stolen the man she loved. "You have done absolutely nothing. I'm sorry for seeming distant, it was unintentionally done."

Kikyou looked over her face. She tried to see if she was lying or telling the truth.

"Kagome…"

"Really," Kagome said putting her makeup back in her bag. "I'm fine." She had taken her keys out from her bag to put her things back in. Kikyou took her keys and looked at the picture that was on them. It was a picture of Kagome and Inuyasha. He was carrying her on his back. Kagome had the side of her head against his silvery hair, and her arms wrapped around his next. They were both laughing; they were both happy.

Kikyou looked up to see Kagome watching her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry," she said handing Kagome back her keys. "Here."

"Thanks," she said taking her keys back. She held them in her hands looking at the picture. "It was spring break last year," she said and Kikyou watched her carefully. "Sango, Miroku, and I decided it would be fun to get away. It took some convincing, but we finally got Inuyasha to go. Inuyasha and I were on our way back from an intense water fight. He was carrying me back on his back because the sand was a bit to hot for me." Kagome laughed a sad laugh. "As we got closer to the others, two things happened. One, a small crab got to close to Sango and pinched her butt, two, Miroku got slapped in the face." Kikyou let out a small chuckle. "It was the first time in his life that he actually hadn't deserved that slap. It was so funny, thus," she said showing the picture to Kikyou, "the reason we're laughing."

"Who took the picture?" Kikyou asked, not understanding how it could've been taken.

"I'm not sure," Kagome whispered looking back at the picture. "I received it in the mail a few days after that."

"No offence," Kikyou said. "That's kinda creepy."

Kagome laughed. "I guess it is." She put her keys in her bag and stood up. "Shall we go back? They're probably worried about us."

"Miroku would probably come in here to look for us," Kikyou said smiling.

"The sad thing is," Kagome said shaking her head. "He probably would."

They both arrived at the table still giggling and were both surprised by the relieved faces their friends had.

"Glad you're both back," Inuyasha said as the two girls sat down. He looked the two of them over as though making sure they weren't scratched up or anything.

"What'd you think?" Kagome asked smiling. "We'd get into a cat fight or something?"

Kikyou laughed. "Seriously guys," she said. "What did you think we were gonna do?"

"I don't know," Sango said looking at the two. "There was just so much tension between you two."

They both looked at each other and just shrugged it off.

_The rest of the dinner went better. We all laughed and talked more. Kagome seemed to be more like her old self that night. Until…_

"Guys," Inuyasha said tapping his wine glass with a fork to get everyone's attention. "I wanna say thanks for joining us tonight." He looked at Kagome, "It means a lot to me." She smiled at him. "The reason I asked you all to join us tonight for dinner, was because I wanted to share this moment with you." He now looked at Kikyou. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yes," she replied with a small smile.

"You know I would do anything for you, right?"

"Yes," she replied again, her smile growing.

"Would you be willing to spend the rest of your life with me?" He pulled out a small box from his pocket. "Kikyou," He opened it to reveal the most beautiful engagement ring ever. "Will you marry me?"

Several things happened at once. Kikyou and Kagome let out small gasps. Ayame clapped her hands together. The two boys stared in shock at Inuyasha. Sango looked at Kagome. She saw shock followed by sadness, then a fake smile appear on her face.

Kikyou looked at everyone before giving her answer. She looked at Kagome last.

_I saw so many different emotions in her eyes. She looked like she hated me. Her eyes held betrayal in them. Lastly there was such sadness. I looked over at Sango who was watching her intently. Then I looked and Inuyasha. Despite how much I loved Kagome as a sister, I loved Inuyasha, and I really wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I felt torn, but one look into Inuyasha's eyes and I gave him my answer…_

"Yes," Kikyou replied. "Yes!" She threw her arms around his neck. "Of course I'll marry you!"

"Congrats," came a small voice from behind her. Everyone looked at Kagome; she was smiling. "You two were meant for each other."

Sango let out a sigh. Ayame excused herself. Those two knew how much pain Kagome was going through, watching Inuyasha and Kikyou hold each other.

"Thanks Kags," Inuyasha replied smiling at her.

Kagome looked down at her hands. "It getting late," she looked up and smiled. "I'd better get going." Kagome stood up and said her goodbyes to everyone. She walked out the door; everyone just watched her. A shiny, new, black BMW pulled up in front of the restaurant and she climbed into the driver's seat as the valet boy got out.

"That's her car?" Inuyasha asked surprised.

"I did know she had a car," Kouga said.

"She came in that?" Miroku asked.

"We wouldn't know," Sango said. "She was here before everyone else." She got up. "I think I'm going to go too." She gave Miroku a kiss and walked out.

_She got up and followed her best friend. The days following our engagement where rough on us. Kagome completely avoided me when we were in our dormroom, and she stayed as far away from Inuyasha as she possibly could. I was finally able to catch her one day in the room. She and Sango were talking…_

"But Kagome," Sango protested. "You can't!"

"I'm sorry Sango," Kagome replied. "I already have my plane tickets." At that moment the door opened and Kikyou appeared in the doorway.

"Hey," she said smiling at the two. They returned the smile. Kikyou went and sat at the desk and pulled a few books out. "I hope you don't mind if I study for my exam tomorrow."

"Not at all," Kagome said. "We wouldn't want you to do badly because of us."

"Thanks," Kikyou said and the other two continued their conversation.

Sango looked at her friend. "Please don't go."

"Sorry Sango," Kagome gave her a sad smile. "It all been taken care of already. Next term I will be attending Colombia University in New York."

"In New York!" Sango shouted. "Why so far away?"

Kagome gave her friend a sad smile. "I miss home," Kagome said simply. "I miss my family."

"But Kagome," Sango protested again. "You can't just leave us all here."

"Sango," Kagome said pleading. "Really, I don't wanna stay anymore. I am far to homesick. Not to mention I would like to see my father before he dies."

"Dies?"

"Yes," Kagome said. "He has a heart condition, and according to my mother, it's getting worse."

"Oh, Kagome," Sango said, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Kagome said. "I'm sure he'll be fine, but I just wanna be with him."

"So when are you leaving?" Sango asked.

Kagome frowned. "Mieoko and I are leaving tomorrow afternoon. We will be hopping on a train to Kyoto to visit a friend first, and then we will be heading off to New York."

"Tomorrow!" Sango shouted. "No! No! No! You are not doing that to me!"

"Sango please," Kagome said in a hushed voice. She looked over at Kikyou who was now staring at the two.

"No Kagome!" Sango continued to shout. "You can't do this to me!"

"Sango…"

"You're my best friend Kagome; you're like a sister to me! Now you're just leaving me like this!"

"Kagome," Kikyou said looking at her. "You're leaving?"

"Yes," Kagome said. "As you just heard, I'm going home to be close to my father." She sighed. "Do me a favor you two."

"Anything, Kagome," Kikyou replied.

"Don't tell Inuyasha until I'm gone."

"Why?" Sango said her anger replaced by confusion.

"Because," Kagome said a sad smile forming. "He would do anything to stop me from leaving."

Kagome looked at Sango. "What do you say we go do something tonight? Just me and you?"

Sango snuck a quick look at Kikyou then nodded.

_The two left that afternoon and didn't return until 3:00 am. Kagome fell asleep instantly. When I awoke a few hours later, she had already left._

"What do you mean she's not here?" Sango yelled at Kikyou. "She wasn't supposed to leave for another two hours!"

Sango was hysterical. Miroku was doing everything in his power to calm her down, but it wasn't working. At that inconvenient moment, Inuyasha appeared.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Sango immediately tensed up.

She looked at the other two before just shrugging it off. "Kagome's gone."

Inuyasha looked at her confused. "What do you mean 'gone'?" he asked.

"As in she left, Inuyasha," Kikyou whispered. "She was supposed to leave today in the afternoon, but she's gone now."

Inuyasha looked at them all. "When is she coming back?"

"Never," whispered Sango.

Inuyasha stared at her. "When did she tell you she was leaving?"

"Yesterday," Sango said. She couldn't look him in the eye.

"When did you plan on telling me?" Inuyasha struggled to ask.

"After she was gone," Sango replied, a tear rolling down her face. "I'm so sorry, but that's what she asked for."

Inuyasha stared at her. His mind wandered. 'Why wouldn't she tell me she was leaving?' he thought to himself. 'Why would she leave me?' He looked at them all. "I have to stop her."

"No," Kikyou said grabbing him by the arm. "That's why she didn't tell you. She knew you would try to stop her."

"Well she was right," he snatched his arm from her and ran. He ran after Kagome's scent. He could sense the others running after him.

Her scent, as well as Mieoko's, led him to the train station by the school. He watched with dismay as he saw Kagome climb aboard a train and it pulled off before he could get on it. He knew that train well. It was the train to the airport, and the next one wasn't until 20 minutes.

The others caught up to him. They saw him pacing impatiently back and forth. He was growling slightly as well. He didn't say anything as they approached him. They waited in silence until the train arrived. They rode in silence until the reached the airport and Inuyasha set off on a run. He quit running at a human pace so as not to frighten everyone; he was going youkai pace now.

He barged through the airport doors and sniffed. Kagome scent went, 'That way,' he thought. He ran and then he saw her.

"Kagome," he called out. There were too many people, he couldn't run inside the airport. "Kagome," he called her again. She was at the gate. "Wait Kagome," he called once more. She handed the lady her ticket and began down the tunnel towards the plane. "KAGOME!" Inuyasha shouted as he reached the gate.

"I'm sorry sir, you can't go in without a boarding card."

"Please," he begged. "I gotta stop her."

"I'm sorry sir," the agent said. "Please go take a seat or leave."

"Please," he begged again.

"Security," the agent called, and two youkai appeared and grabbed him by the arms.

Sango, Miroku, and Kikyou arrived in time to watch the plane take off. The lady at the counter saw them and walked over to them.

"Is one of you by any chance Inuyasha?" she asked.

Inuyasha who was still being held by security looked up. "That's me."

"Here you go," she said. "I was told to give you this after the plane took off." She handed him a letter. It had Kagome's scent on it. He opened it and read it. A single tear slid down his perfect face.

_No one knows what Kagome's letter said. Your father never shared it with any of us, but we do know that whatever the letter said, it touched a weak spot._

_We never heard from Kagome again. We saw her on television once. She had landed a part in a movie and was becoming a popular model in New York. Your father never mentioned her again, but when she was mentioned by one of us, such sadness was seen in his beautiful puppy eyes. _

_It pains me to write this letter to you daughter. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about her. Kagome was such a kind hearted person, and I betrayed her by marrying the man she loved the most in her life. Kanna, had you met her, you would've loved her as a mother. She knew how to have fun. When you're ready, ask your father what did Kagome's letter say. It's up to you dear to make him happy once again._

_Love,_

_Your mother_

Kanna finished reading the letter. Her mother had left her with an important job. She needed to make her father happy. The only way to do that was to get Kagome, but how was a 13 year old girl supposed to that?

"Come Kanna," called Kaede. "Let's go get some fresh air."

"Coming," she replied. She put the letter down grabbed her shoes and ran down the stairs. She needed to think of something. She was going to get those two together whether it was the last thing she did or not.

**Authors note: **Okay, welcome to the re-write of _A Mother's Letter_. It'll be much longer than the first one. And it will be, hopefully, better written. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are loved. I can't promise when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully very soon.

Your's truly,

Orokenshin (aka Inny)


	2. The Return of Kagome

Kanna finished reading the letter

_Kanna finished reading the letter. Her mother had left her with an important job. She needed to make her father happy. The only way to do that was to get Kagome, but how was a 13 year old girl supposed to that?_

"_Come Kanna," called Kaede. "Let's go get some fresh air."_

"_Coming," she replied. She put the letter down grabbed her shoes and ran down the stairs. She needed to think of something. She was going to get those two together whether it was the last thing she did or not._

**Chapter 2:** **The Return of Kagome**

_She saw _them_ kissing in the park under __their__ tree. She saw _them_ laughing in __her__ room. She saw _him_ open a box for _her_ with a beautiful ring in it. She saw _them_ hug passionately. It was more than __her__ heart could take._

"_It getting late," she looked up and smiled, hoping that it looked convincing. "I'd better get going." She got up and left. Her black BMW was waiting for her. She climbed in and made a lonely trip home. _

_She opened the door only to find _them_ kissing on __her__ bed. She turns and runs back down the long hallway. It becomes the airport. She is running, weaving her way threw the crowd._

"_Kagome," she heard __**him **__call. She ignored it. _

"_Kagome," __**he **__called again. She would not fall to him again. She had suffered enough because of him. No more, not now and not ever again. _

"_Wait Kagome," __**his **__voice sounded desperate. She wanted to turn and run to him, but her heart couldn't take any more pain. She made her way to the plane._

"_KAGOME!" she heard __**his**__ final cry._

"_Good bye," she whispered as she boarded the plane. She felt her heart torn in two as the plane took off into the clouds. Never again would she see her beloved __**Inuyasha**__…_

Kagome awoke. 'I haven't dreamed about them in years.' She thought to herself. 'Why now?' She still had her eyes closed when she heard a small voice speaking.

"Mommy," a small voice called. She ignored it and rolled over. "Mommy, wake up." She felt a small creature crawl on her bed. She covered her head with the blankets. "Mommy!" the young Kitsune jumped on her.

"I'm up," she said tiredly. "I'm up Shippo."

"Good," Shippo said hopping off the bed and getting something off the floor. "Happy Birthday Mommy!" He held up a tray with breakfast and a small box. At that moment she stopped thinking about the dream and smiled.

"Aw," Kagome said taking the tray from Shippo. "Thank you baby," She said hugging the young Kitsune. Then she looked at the breakfast. "Did you make this all by yourself?" She looked at the happy little Kitsune and he smiled.

Kagome returned the smile then looked at her breakfast. It was toast, and it wasn't burnt. It had some jelly spread nicely across it. There was a glass of orange juice accompanying it. Next to the juice were some hand picked flowers, and right next to the flowers was a small box that was tied by a beautiful sapphire ribbon with a gold trim on the edges.

"You like it mommy?" Shippo asked when she didn't say anything.

"I love it," she grabbed her son and put him on her lap.

Shippo was still very small and young. He looked no bigger than a three year old, even though, he was five already. He had gold-brown hair. His eyes were a bright green and full of life. His nose was small and adorable. His small hands were clawed and his feet were pawed. To top it all off, he had a small bushy tail that Kagome was absolutely obsessed with.

Shippo flashed his mother a happy smile.

"Would you like to share it with me?" Kagome asked her son.

Shippo shook his head. "No Mommy, it's for you."

"Thank you," she said and she took a bite out of her toast. It was the absolute perfect way to start her birthday…

It was her thirty-third birthday. She sat lazily in bed hugging her adopted son. She loved her breakfast and present. She looked at her wrist and smiled. It was a beautiful bracelet. It was the best present she had ever received, even better than the ones received from her rich celebrity friends.

Kagome yawned and Shippo snuggled against her. They were both slowly falling asleep when the phone decided to ring.

"Damn phone," Kagome said as she placed Shippo down on the bed. "Hello?"

"_Kagome?"_

'Damn it,' Kagome mentally cursed to herself. "Hello Jake, to what do I owe this unpleasantly early call today?"

"_I'm sorry Kagome, but well…"_

'Shit, it must be bad if he's hesitating.' She sighed. "Well…"

"_There's been a problem…"_

"What kind of problem?" Kagome sighed again. She knew she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear.

"_There is a problem with the branch in Japan."_

"What's wrong with it? Did they not get a shipment of clothing? Did they lose something?"

Kagome and Jake spoke on the phone for only five minutes. In those five minutes Kagome managed to go from happy to pissed as hell. Her son, sleeping peacefully beside her stirred slightly when she fisted the pillow beside him.

"_I'm sorry Ms. Hirugashi."_

"Well what should I do?" she sighed in defeat.

"_They want to speak with you in person this time."_

Kagome let out a small gasp. 'Me go back to Japan?' She spaced out a bit.

"_Kagome…"_

"I'm sorry Jake," she said, hopping she could hide the panic that she felt. "I really, really, really can't go."

"_Ms. Kagome! If you don't we could lose our Japanese buyers!"_

Kagome sighed. "When do I need to go?" She wasn't about to make others miserable because of her own fear of going to another country.

"_Can you go tonight?"_

"No," she replied quickly. "I will not go on my birthday! I won't go tomorrow either!" She thought about it for a second. "I guess I can go the day after tomorrow.

"_Thank you. I'll book your plane tickets then."_

With that, Jake hung up. Kagome put the phone down slowly. She looked over at her young Kitsune son; he had one eye open and watching her carefully. She smiled, remembering that he could sense her distress.

"Mommy?" Shippo called from his place in the bed. "You okay?"

Kagome smiled. "I'm fine Shippo." She walked over to her bed and jumped on. Shippo climbed on her lap. "You want to go on a vacation, sweetie?"

Shippo's ears twitched. "Where would we go, mommy?"

"Japan," Kagome stated simply. "We'd go to Japan."

Shippo tensed up. "Do we have to?" he did his best to hide the fear in his voice. He began to tremble a bit.

Kagome held him close. "Yes," Kagome whispered in his ear. She held him closer. "It's okay Shippo; I won't let anything happen to you."

Shippo trembled and held on tightly to Kagome's pajama top. He buried his small face in her shoulder. Kagome felt her shirt getting wet; she held him tight and rocked him back and forth.

"It'll be okay Shippo," Kagome whispered lovingly in his ear. "I won't let anyone hurt you." She heard him whimper; she petted his head and rubbed his back gently.

"Please mommy," his soft voice was muffled a bit by her shirt. "Can we go somewhere else?"

Kagome smiled sadly. "Sorry baby," she hugged him and tried to get him off. She sat him in front of her so he could look her in the eyes. "Mommy has to go."

"Why?" Shippo cried out. "Why do you have to go?"

Kagome climbed off the bed and got her son a tissue. She watched him snatch the tissue from her. Normally that action would've gotten him in trouble, but now, he was so distraught that Kagome wasn't going to punish him for it. He blew his nose. Kagome still hadn't answered him and she knew he wanted an answer, so she picked up the sniffling kitsune and walked out of her room.

As she walked into the kitchen and placed the young child down on a small stool, she answered him. "I have to go because I am the president of the company, baby."

"Well then quit!" Shippo wailed.

Kagome rubbed her temples with her middle fingers. 'Good lord, what did I do to deserve this? On my birthday of all days too!' She looked into Shippo's fearful eyes. She sighed in defeat. "You don't have to go Shippo."

His sobbing stopped immediately. 'Mommy is gonna leave me?' He searched her face for an answer. "You'd leave me behind, Mommy?"

"If I was a selfish person I would take you with me, but" she sighed and kneeled to be eye level with him. "I don't want to make you do anything you don't like." She cupped his small cheek in her hand. "I love you to much to make you suffer that way." She placed a small kiss on his forehead and walked over to the fridge to get things out for his breakfast.

Shippo watched Kagome with tearful eyes. He watched her get milk and eggs out. She got out the pancake mix. She didn't look back at Shippo to ask if he wanted chocolate chips like she normally did; she just added them anyway. He knew she was upset. She placed the pancakes on the table and walked out of the kitchen. He watched her leave. His eyes went from his breakfast to the hall his upset mother had disappeared to. He got up and ran down the hall.

"Mommy," he whispered as he caught up to her and hugged he leg. "Please don't be mad at me," he cried into her pajama pants. "Please don't be mad."

Kagome looked down at the crying boy. "Shippo…" She picked him up and cradled him in her arms. "I'm not mad at you." She snuggled him to her face. "I could never be mad at you." She carried him back to the kitchen and sat down with him. She grabbed his plate and put it in front of the two of them.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Kagome kissed his fluffy head. "I love you. Now no more crying, okay?" She got a forkful of pancake and put it in front of his mouth. "Now, you eat!" She laughed and Shippo gratefully ate the pancakes.

The day improved as it went on. Kagome and Shippo played outdoors the whole day. As the sunset, their energy began to run out and sleep was closely approaching.

"Today was so much fun," Shippo panted as he dropped down on his back. "Did you have fun Mommy?"

Kagome fell down next to him and laughed. "Yes, I believe I did have fun today." She faced the kitsune, "Thank you honey. I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

Shippo smiled. "Anything for you mom."

The two lay there under the stars. Soon she heard Shippo's breathing change and she knew he was asleep. She got up and picked him up. Kagome placed him gently on his bed and brushed his bangs back with her hand.

"Good night, Shippo," she whispered.

"Mnigh mummy," he mumbled back.

She kissed him softly on the head and turned the lights off. She walked out of the room and down the hall to hers. She smiled and plopped down on her bed. Within minutes she was sound asleep.

The following morning Kagome awoke to find a small ball of fluff snuggled close to her. Kagome smiled and shook him gently.

"Shippo, sweetie," she shook him. "Wake up."

He twitched his ears and lifted his head lazily. "Morning Mom," he yawned.

"Come on sleepy head," she said as she climbed out of bed. "We have a lot of things to do." She grabbed her clothes. "I have to pack for tomorrow. Do you think you could make me some breakfast again?"

"Sure mommy," Shippo jumped down from the bed. "What do you want?"

"Anything," Kagome replied. "Just don't burn down the house."

"I promise I won't," Shippo replied as he scurried down out the door.

Kagome smiled. Grabbing her clothes, she took a quick shower. Breakfast was quick and quiet. The whole day was spent packing clothes. It was five when Kagome realized she hadn't given Shippo lunch.

"I'm so sorry Shippo," Kagome said picking him up. "How could I forget to feed you?"

"It's okay," Shippo laughed at his mother. "I wasn't that hungry."

The two ate quickly and continued packing. It was 11:00 pm when they finished. Kagome stood leaning against a wall where she slowly slipped down to the floor. Shippo crawled onto her lap.

"You know I'm going to miss you right?" Kagome whispered to Shippo.

"You better," Shippo replied with a yawn.

"You'll be staying with your Auntie Rin and Uncle Sesshomaru in California," Kagome said hugging him. "You like that?"

Shippo nodded sleepily in her arms. "Yes, I like staying with Auntie Rin and Uncle Sessh. I especially like playing with Eri."

"I know," Kagome said picking him up and taking him to his room. "You gotta get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

She placed him into his small bed and planted a kiss on his cheek. She walked out of his room into hers.

"It's only for a few days," she told herself. "That's it! It's not like they're all gonna be there waiting for me." She rolled over on her back. "It'll all be okay. I won't see them, and in a few days I can continue living my life with Shippo." She sighed and soon after she fell into a dream filled sleep.

"_Come on Kags," Inuyasha called. _

"_Go away," Kagome replied and threw a pillow at him. "Its only 11:30 in the morning. Come back in five hours." She rolled over. _

"_Heh," Inuyasha laughed and jumped onto the bed. "I'm giving you until the count of three to get up."_

"_Whatcha gonna do if I don't?"_

"_You'll see," Inuyasha smiled. "One… Two… THREE!" Inuyasha pulled the blankets off of her and began to tickle her. _

"_Inuyasha!" Kagome wailed. "Get off you silly puppy."_

"_HEY! No one calls me a puppy and gets away with it!" He tickled her and tickled her. The two dogs barked in the background. Sango, Ayame, Kouga, and Miroku all laughed. _

_Then a small kitsune appeared and tackled Inuyasha. Inuyasha stopped tickling Kagome and watched the kitsune go to Kagome._

"_Mommy," he said. "Mommy…"_

"Hm," Kagome moaned.

"Mommy," Shippo said again. "It's time to get up."

Kagome opened one eye and looked at Shippo. He was still in his own pj's. "What time is it?" she asked him.

"Its 5:30," Shippo replied and jumped back startled by his mother's reaction.

"What!" She jumped out of bed and ran to the TV in her dresser thing. She turned it on and sure enough it was 5:31. "We're gonna be late!" She grabbed Shippo and ran to his room.

"Mommy…" Shippo began as Kagome stuffed him into one of his least favorite shirts. "Do I have to wear this?"

"Yes," Kagome replied as she finished tying his shoe and running out of the room. She took a five minute shower and fixed her hair in record time. She didn't even bother to put makeup on. 'I'm pretty without it.' She thought to herself.

They arrived at the airport with fifteen minutes to spare. They quickly checked in and ran to the security check point. Lucky for her, the lines weren't that long that morning. Once past that, they had five minutes to get to their gate. Kagome picked Shippo up and began to run.

"Final Boarding Call for the flight to Los Angeles, California," she heard the voice over the intercom say.

"Wait for us!" Kagome called as she darted towards the gate.

"You just made it," said the lady as she took their tickets. "Lucky. Enjoy your trip."

"Thank you," Kagome managed to pant out.

The flight from NY to LA was a six hour flight. It was a perfect chance for Kagome and Shippo to get a well deserved nap. They fell asleep the instant the plane took off. Sitting in first class, Kagome was extremely comfortable. Once the captain turned off the 'fasten seatbelts' sign, Shippo took his off and cuddled next to his mother. They both were awoken by the voice of the captain saying, "Please fasten your seatbelts, we'll be arriving at Los Angeles International Airport in twenty minutes."

"Yay!" Shippo bounded happily out of the plane.

"Thank you," Kagome smiled apologetically at the flight attendant and followed her son off of the plane. "Shippo," she called after him. "Slow down."

"Look Mommy!" Shippo said excitedly. "There they are!"

Kagome looked up to see Rin and Sesshomaru standing a few feet away smiling. Shippo ran over to them and jumped into Rin's arms. Kagome smiled and hugged Rin.

"It's so good to see you," she said as she hugged Sesshomaru. "I've missed you both so much!"

"We've missed you too! Right Sesshy?" Rin said smiling.

"Yes," Sesshomaru sighed. "I must admit I have missed you." Kagome, Rin, and Shippo smiled. "Come on," Sesshomaru said in his regular bored voice. "I really don't want to get my car towed."

The four left the airport. When they arrived at the house, Shippo jumped through the open window of the car and bounded up the front stairs where his "cousin" Eri was waiting.

"Eri!" Shippo ran to her.

"Shippo!" Eri hugged the kitsune. She dragged him into the house.

"She's gotten big," Kagome said as she stepped out of the car. "She looks just like you Fluff." Rin giggled at the name.

"Kagome," he said icily. It caused both the girls to go laughing into the house.

"She does look a lot like her father." Rin and Kagome sat in the family room drinking some iced tea. Kagome looked at the album on her lap. Eri had long silvery hair just like Sesshomaru. Her eyes were a beautiful gold. She had a cute tail just like her father and she wore it over her shoulder just like her father too. On her face were four purple stripes; two on each cheek.

Kagome looked at the picture, and the first thought that came to mind when she saw the picture was… "Inuyasha."

"What?" Rin asked looking at her.

"She looks so much like Inuyasha," Kagome whispered again.

Rin smiled slightly. "It's the doggy ears and the gold eyes, right?"

"Yeah," Kagome smiled. "It is."

"Don't worry about it," came the familiar voice of Sesshomaru from the doorway. "My idiot half brother doesn't know you're going."

"Has your opinion on hanyous changed?" Kagome asked with a smile. Sesshomaru's cheeks turned a bright pink and Rin burst into a fit of giggles.

"Well…" Sesshomaru began.

"Daddy," said a small voice behind him. He looked down at his daughter. "Can Shippo and I have money to go get some ice cream?"

"There isn't an ice cream store for miles, baby girl," Sesshomaru replied. "But I think there is some still in the freezer. Why don't you ask Marsha to serve you guys some?"

"Okay daddy," Eri bounded away happily.

He turned to look at Kagome. "I guess my view on them has changed." He smiled, which is something he never did. "I can't possibly dislike them. I only dislike my idiot brother cause he's an idiot."

Kagome laughed. Rin hugged him. Everything was right with the world at that point. You could hear the children outside laughing. The baby was asleep in his crib upstairs. Yes, Sesshomaru and Rin had another child too, his name was Kyo. He was a beautiful baby boy. He looked like his mother with the exception of the little black doggy ears.

'I'll be back to this in less than a week,' she thought to herself as she lay in bed. 'No one knows I'm gonna be there. It'll all be fine.' She soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

&

Kagome sat in her first class seat. She missed her Shippo already.

"Leave your kid behind?" a flight attendant asked as she sat next to Kagome.

"Yeah," she said smiling sheepishly. "How'd you know?"

"When you've been doing this for as long as I have, you learn to read the people."

Kagome smiled and looked out the window. She was returning to her past and there was no Shippo to comfort her. She fell asleep again and awoke once they had landed. She sighed and got off. She was relieved to find that there was a car already waiting for her. She reluctantly got in.

"Hirugashi Estate please," she told the driver.

"Yes, ma'am."

She sat in the back of the small limo and watched the scenery change. She looked at the familiar city whisk passed her. She saw a young girl with silver hair and a hat on watch the limo drive by. She watched the little girl cross the street and meet up with a man on the other side of the road. He also had silver colored hair and a cap on. Her mind instantly remembered Inuyasha. She knew he was somewhere in Tokyo. Little did she know how close he truly was.

&

"I wonder what celebrity is in the car daddy," Kanna said as she watched the car drive by. "Daddy?" She pulled gently on his sleeve. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" He seemed to have come out of a trance. "Yeah, I'm fine sweetheart." He watched the car drive away. 'That scent...'

"Come on Daddy," Kanna said pulling at his sleeve again. "Auntie Sango will be angry if we're late again."

"Yes," Inuyasha said slowly. He looked down at her and smiled. "Let's go then." She slipped her hand into his and the two walked down the street and around the corner. They rang the doorbell of a small little house on the outskirts of town.

"Inuyasha, Kanna, welcome!" A familiar female voice welcomed them in. "Glad you came. The children are dying to play with Kanna. They haven't shut up all day!"

Inuyasha and Kanna both laughed. The two walked into the rambunctious house, and closed the door.

"Kanna!" a girl came running over to the dog demon. "You're here!"

"Hey Kila," Kanna said as she embraced the little girl. A small cat jumped onto her shoulder. "Hello to you too Kirara."

"Come on," Kila grabbed Kanna's hand. "I got a new doll! Come see!"

Kanna sighed. She hated dolls. "Um… Okay Kila"

"Yay!" Kila dragged Kanna to her room.

"Poor Kanna," Sango said to Inuyasha as they walked into the living room.

"Heh," Inuyasha laughed. He sat on the couch. "Where's Miroku?"

"Around," Sango replied with a smile. She threw a coke at him.

"Uncle Inu!" a small boy came running down the hall, into the living room, and jumped onto Inuyasha.

"Hey Myoga," Inuyasha said as he rustled the small boy's hair. "How are ya?"

"Great," he replied with a smile. "Hey dad, Uncle Inu is here!"

"Don't shout," Miroku said as he walked in. "Remember, Kanna and Inuyasha have sensitive ears."

"Oh," Myoga looked at Inuyasha and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I forgot."

"It's okay," Inuyasha said twitching his ears a bit. They were ringing. "The ringing will eventually stop."

Myoga smiled. "Wanna go play my newest video game with me? I can kick your butt at it!"

"Feh," Inuyasha snorted. "You could never beat me!" He got up and put the kid on his shoulder. They walked out of the room, leaving Sango and Miroku alone.

"Is it just me or does he seem a bit more depressed today than normal?" Sango asked.

"Yes," Miroku replied. "He is a bit down today." He heard the shouts of an angry child who had obviously just lost the game.

"Maybe we should get Inuyasha some ear plugs? Sango suggested.

"Yeah," Miroku laughed. "Let's go look for some."

&.

"Miss Kagome," the driver said as he pulled up in front of the large house. "Welcome home." He stopped right at the entrance and a young man opened the door.

Kagome yawned. Jetlag was a real pain in the ass. She stumbled out of the car and barely heard the whole welcoming party as she entered the house. She climbed up all the twenty-four stairs, yes she counted them, to the second floor and walked down the hall into her room. She slammed the door shut and went over to her bed. She let herself fall on her king sized bed. In a matter of minutes she had fallen into a dreamless sleep.

&.

"Daddy," Kanna said at the dinner table. "Can we stay the night?"

Inuyasha put down his fork and looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"Can – we – stay – the – night?" she said it slowly to make sure he heard her this time. She knew he had heard her the first time. After all, it was impossible for him not to hear the quietest thing with his ears.

Inuyasha looked at her then at Sango. "Do you mind?"

Sango smiled. "Not at all! I'll set up the guest room after dinner. Kanna you can sleep in Kila's room." Sango was obviously overjoyed at the thought of having company staying over.

Inuyasha smiled. "Thanks."

&.

Kagome awoke to having something soft nudging her in the ribs.

"It's to early Shippo," she mumbled as she grabbed her blanket and snuggled closer in it. She heard a small whine. "Shippo?" She lifted the blanket off her face and slowly opened her eyes. At first she was blinded by the morning light, but then she made out an animal form. She rubbed her eyes and stared. Sitting on her bed next to her was her beloved dog, Mieoko.

"Mieoko!" Kagome shouted and threw her arms around him. "Oh my God," she continued shouting. "I've missed you so much, buddy boy."

Mieoko licked her face. She scratched his head. She hadn't seen her dog in a year, since she had last come to Japan. She had left him behind so he could have room to run because in New York, he was limited quite a bit.

"Have you seen Niko?" She asked.

Niko had been given to Ayame and Kouga because Inuyasha couldn't take care of him as long as Kikyou lived with him. Niko had never really grown fond of Kikyou. Once he nearly attacked her while he was in his full demon form. The night that happened was the night Inuyasha handed Niko over to Ayame.

He gave her a happy bark in reply. She laughed.

"Well what about Kirara? Have you seen her?" Kagome asked him.

Mieoko whined, and Kagome took it as a "no" to her question. She patted his head and smiled.

"At least you saw one of your good friends," she hugged him again and got up. "We have a long day ahead of us today so come on.

&.

"Let's go to the park today," Sango said smiling. "A bit of fresh air will do everyone some good."

"Yes," Inuyasha nodded. "I guess it would be good."

"Yay we're going to the park!" Kila jumped around the dining room happily.

"No need to shout it," Kanna rubbed her black ears.

"The park," whispered Myoga. "Wanna play some American football with me, Kanna?"

Kanna smiled at him. He knew her all to well. "I'd love too!"

&.

"Come on Mieoko," Kagome dragged him along a busy street in downtown Tokyo. "If I'm late for this meeting, you're so gonna die."

Mieoko barked at her and she turned around to face him. She scowled at him, and he scowled back. She gave a frustrated sigh and turned around, only to run into someone.

"Oh, sorry sir," she apologized, her head bowed. "Come on Mieoko," she whispered to the dog and walked away. He ran after her. They waited at the corner for the 'walk' sign.

&.

"Oh, sorry sir," she apologized to him. She had refused to look up. Her scent hit him so strongly. It was an amazing scent that seemed oddly familiar. "Come on Mieoko," she whispered to the dog at her side.

He stood in place and walked her go stand at the corner. He looked her over. She looked familiar, like someone he hadn't seen in years. Then his eyes fell on her dog. He stared. He could recognize those familiar markings on a dog anywhere. The blue stripes on his paws, his blue tipped tail, the odd markings on his hind legs. There was only one dog in the world that looked like that, his name, Mieoko.

"Mieoko," he whispered. He saw the dog turn and stare at him. His eyes were cold, very unlike the eyes with which he looked at his owner.

&.

Mieoko's head turned to look at something in the crowd. He let a low growl escape his throat.

"Come on, Mio," Kagome said patting his head. He looked back at her then at the mob of people again and decided to follow her.

Kagome crossed the street and disappeared into the crowd.

&.

"Inuyasha." Someone shook his arm. It was Sango. "Are you okay? You kind of zoned out on me."

"Huh," Inuyasha looked at her. He shook his head and smiled. "I'm fine." They continued walking. The children were walking in front and the parents behind.

"You okay Inu?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah," he smiled. He looked up at the blue sky. A thought came into his head again. "Sango," Inuyasha said looking at her.

"Yes hun?" she smiled up at him.

"You…" he hesitated. Her smile dimmed a bit. "You remember Mieoko?"

Sango's smile grew again. "Yes, of course I do." Then she looked warily at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," he hesitated again. "Do you know what happened to him?"

Sango looked thoughtfully at him. Her eyes looked sad for a second. "Last I heard…" she was interrupted by her daughter.

"Last anyone heard of the legendary Mieoko," Kila smiled. "He was left behind on the Hirugashi Estate while Kagome returned to America with her son, Shippo."

"And," Kanna chirped in. "Rumor has it that she's here in Japan again."

"Yeah," Kila said. It had now become a conversation between the two. "They also say that she left her son in America."

"Wonder how poor little Shippo is doing without his mom," Kanna said.

"She has a son?" Inuyasha asked when he finally got the chance.

"Yes," Miroku said. It earned him stares of shock from everyone. "What?" He asked. "I saw it on tv once."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Does that mean she's married?" Inuyasha's eyes looked pained at the thought.

"No," Kila replied. "She's just as single as she has ever been."

"Yeah dad," Kanna said looking up at him. "She adopted him on her last trip here to Japan."

"Look," Myoga jumped up and down. "We're here! Come on Kanna you promised!" He ran ahead.

"Yes," Kanna said with a small smile on her face. "I'm gonna kick your butt!" She ran after him.

Kila held Kirara close and went to sit under a tree. Inuyasha hopped up onto a branch above her, and her parents sat next to her on the floor.

Who knows how long they sat there, or how long the other two played. They all woke with a start.

"You cheated!" Myoga shouted. "You're a demon, of course you're gonna win!"

"That's not cheating," Kanna simply pointed out. "All's fair in love, war, and football." She smiled and ran to the tree everyone was at. Everyone began laughing. Then Kirara squirmed her way out from Kila's hold.

"Kirara," Kila called out. "Come back!" She ran after the cat.

"Kila," Sango called after her. "Just let her be. She'll come home on her own!" Kila didn't hear her; she was already to far away.

"I'll go get her," Kanna sighed and ran after her.

&.

"It went better than expected," Kagome said as she lay on her back on the grass. "Everything has been worked out, and we can go back to Shippo tomorrow if we wanted!" She laughed.

Mieoko suddenly stood up. He growled and transformed into his demon form.

"Mieoko are you-" she was interrupted when a giant cat demon jumped over the hill above her and tackled Mieoko. The two demons wrestled with each other and Kagome couldn't help but laugh at the two.

"Oh my God, Kirara!" Kagome heard someone shout in the distance. She turned to face the voice. Two children were running towards the wrestling demons. That was a problem considering that if they got to close, Kirara might sense then but Mieoko wouldn't and thus he would probably end up hurting them.

"Mieoko," Kagome shouted at him. The children were getting closer. "Take it up to the sky!" Mieoko instantly turned to face her. Then he jumped up.

Kirara followed him up into the air. The children stopped right bellow the two floating demons. They had stopped wrestling now and were looking down at them.

Kagome ran over to the children. "What's wrong with you?" Kagome asked the children, placing a hand on both of their heads. "You could've been seriously hurt. Don't you know not to get anywhere near fighting demons."

Kila looked down at the ground. Kagome saw her shoulders tremble slightly.

"I'm sorry," Kagome apologized. She lifted Kila's chin up. "I didn't mean to sound harsh. You just could've been hurt."

"Kirara would never hurt me," Kila said, her sniffles calming down.

"She wouldn't, but my dog could've," Kagome replied. Mieoko came down and landed on her right, and Kirara came and landed on her left. Kagome looked thoughtfully at Kirara when a thought came to her head. "How do you know Kirara?"

Kanna looked at her. "It's her cat." Kagome looked at her.

"Yeah," Kila said looking at Kagome. "She's mine."

"I thought…" she looked at Kirara. "That's," she pointed to Kila, "her daughter?"

Kirara gave a small growl of acknowledgement. Then she returned to her kitten form and jumped on Mieoko's head.

"Well," Kagome said looking at Kila. "You do look a lot like your mother." Kagome smiled. "It's nice to meet you…"

"Kila," she said. "I'm Kila and she's Kanna."

"Well," Kagome said smiling at the two. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kila, and you too Kanna. I never thought I would get the chance to meet Sango's daughter." Kila just looked at her like she was crazy.

Kanna's eyes grew wide as she slowly realized something. "You're Kagome." She pointed at her, "You're Kagome Hirugashi, and that's," she pointed at Mieoko. "That's Mieoko!"

Kagome smiled. "Yes, I'm Kagome Hirugashi and this is my faithfully large and annoying companion, Mieoko."

"Oh my God," Kila said slowly. "You're … I'm actually… Can I have your autograph?"

Kagome looked at her thoughtfully. "I don't see why not," she chucked as she dug through her bag for a pen and paper. "I'm such a mess," she muttered as she plopped herself down and continued her search. The two girls exchanged a glance before doing as the celebrity did. "Found one!" She grinned triumphantly as she pulled out a pen. "To Kila, right?"

"That's right ma'am," little Kila could not keep still from all the excitement.

"To Kila," began Kagome. "You look so much like your mother. It was nice to meet you. Signed Kagome Higurashi." Kagome smiled proudly at her handiwork and handed the paper over to Kila. "Now for you, Kanna, correct?"

"Yes Miss Kagome," Kanna said quietly. She studied the young woman. There were many aspects that reminded her of the picture of her mother. They both had raven black hair, the same pale skin, and their body build was almost the same. Yet, Kagome's eyes are what made them completely different. They didn't show it now, but Kanna could tell that at one point, they were full of life. She could still see a very faint spark of the old Kagome hidden behind those eyes, but it was almost invisible.

"Here you go Kanna, sweetie," Kagome said as she handed Kanna the paper. The child snapped out of her thoughts and said her thank you. "Don't mention it," Kagome laughed. "I think you should be getting back to your parents though. We don't want them to worry over you." She looked at Kanna. "Well, maybe not so much you. You look like the type who can defend herself."

Kanna smiled proudly. "I sure can! I have demon blood running through my veins. I'm close to invincible!"

The young girl beside Kanna frowned. Kagome didn't miss it and smirked. "Ha, don't let that bother you Kila. All demons have a weak spot. They also can get a big head every now and then. It's best to just ignore them when this happens."

Both child and adult started to laugh. Now it was Kanna's turn to frown; however, she thought for a moment. Perhaps Kagome was speaking from personal experience. There was so much Kanna wanted to know, but she just didn't know how to bring the topic up.

"Mieoko," Kagome called her gentle giant. "Do me a favor and escort these two young ladies and their feline friend back to their parents." She turned to face Kila. "It was very nice to meet you, please send my love to your parents. Tell them I do miss them terribly."

"They're right over the hill, why don't you stop by?" The child asked hopefully.

Kanna took the opportunity to jump in. "Kila, Kagome is a busy woman, I'm sure she really has to be on her way."

Kagome gave Kanna an appreciative smile. "Perhaps another day Kila. It was very nice to meet you too Kanna. I do hope we run in to each other again, and thank you."

Mieoko padded ahead with Kirara still sitting comfortably on his head. He turned and waited for the two girls to follow. They both bid Kagome farewell and ran after the black beast. Content that his charges were following, he continued making his way up the small hill and towards the group of adults.

Inuyasha was the first to notice the large dog approaching. His ears flattened against his head when he noticed his daughter following the dog. How was it that she came across that particular dog? Why couldn't she have stumbled across another stray? No, she had to pick that one.

"Kila!" Sango shouted, alarmed by her company. Her shout bought Inuyasha out of his train of thought. Sango ran over to her daughter who had continued walking despite Mieoko's stopping. "What do you think you are doing? Since when do you go around with stray dogs? He could have flees! Even worse, he could have rabies!"

"Calm down mom," Kila said, worming her way out of her mother's grasp. "I'm pretty sure this dog doesn't have flees or rabies. Kagome would take better care of her dog than that."

That confirmed it. Inuyasha looked at the dog whom remained frozen in place, his blue eyes now glued on Inuyasha. It was Mieoko. That could only mean that the girl he had bumped in to earlier was, in fact, Kagome.

"Mieoko?" Sango asked. She looked over at the dog and noticed Kirara. It really was Mieoko. Sango ran to the dog and tackled him. She hadn't seen him in more than fourteen years. He didn't look any older than the last time she had seen him. Not that she expected much of a change since he was a demon, but still she had partially expected some change. She hugged the dog tightly causing him to whine slightly in protest. "I'm sorry, boy," she said releasing her hold. "I just really missed you." She looked in to his cool blue eyes, their gazes never once flickering away. In those few seconds, the two of them had a special connection. Sango rose gracefully to her feet and put a hand on the dogs head. "It was nice to see you again, buddy."

Miroku looked at the two. He had never bonded with Mieoko as Sango had, but he was still friends with the pooch. Upon seeing that their moment was over, he asked a very important question. "If you're here, does that mean Kagome is somewhere nearby too?"

Mieoko's eyes landed on Miroku. Just as with Sango, the moment the two characters locked eyes, a secret message was passed between the two.

"I see," was all Miroku said. He glanced over at Sango before announcing that perhaps it was time they all went home.

"Wait," Inuyasha said. Kanna sighed, relieved that her father was speaking up. "Where is Kagome?"

Mieoko returned his attention to Inuyasha and growled. Slowly his calm, sweet face turned in to the face of a snarling, terrifying monster. Even Kanna had to shrink back slightly in fear of the dog. Just as he was about to take one step towards Inuyasha, he froze. His expression became blank and alert. Just like that, he turned and walked away back over the hill.

"What was that all about?" Kila asked, looking from one adult to another.

Kanna knew. She also knew that all the adults knew. Mieoko had developed a deep hatred towards Inuyasha from the moment he felt Kagome's heart break. Seeing his master hurting and not being able to cure it affected Mieoko like that. Inuyasha was the source of her hurt, so his anger could only be directed towards him.

"Come on Dad," Kanna said, taking his clawed hand in hers. "I'm hungry, can we go get some lunch?"

"Yeah, okay," he looked down at his daughter then at their friends. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Miroku replied. "Take your time."

**-&-**

Kagome smiled as she saw her faithful companion return. "What took you so long?" She asked ruffling his furry head. "Come on, we have to meet up with Ayame and Kouga for lunch. Who knows, perhaps Niko will be there. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She laughed when she saw his excitement. "Let's go then!"

The two dashed across the park to its other exit. Right across was the famous pizza place she and her buddies used to eat at. She smiled at the memory as she looked in through the window. There at the back table, she, Inuyasha, Kouga, Ayame, Sango, and Miroku would always sit and laugh.

"Are you just going to stand there all day, or are we going to go in to eat?" A familiar voice from behind asked.

Kagome spun around and tackled the man behind her. "Kouga!" She laughed while hugging him tightly.

"Hey, hey! You had your shot at him, he's all mine now," another voice said. Kagome let go of one wolf demon and turned to the other.

"Ayame!" She embraced her friend. "It's been a long time you two."

"You know it. About a year, no?"

"A year indeed. It was when I came to pick up Shippo," Kagome remembered. "It seems longer though," she pointed out. Suddenly she felt something tugging at her. She looked down and saw Mieoko trying to pull the leash out of her hand. Puzzled by it, she let the leash go and watched as Mieoko took off.

"Took him long enough," Kouga said.

"Wha'?" Kagome asked, very confused.

"Niko is in the park somewhere waiting for his buddy. Once they meet up you'll see they'll both join us for lunch," Ayame explained.

"Ah, okay then," Kagome beamed. "Shall we then?"

"We shall," Kouga said with a smile as he held the door open for the two ladies.

**-&-**

"Hey daddy," Kanna began as the father-daughter couple walked along. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you know Kagome?"

Inuyasha paused and looked down at his daughter. Her gaze was frozen on him. He didn't need to go in to much detail. She would be content with a simple answer, right?

"We went to college together," he said simply. He was satisfied, but she wasn't.

"Why does Mieoko not like you?" She asked, hoping to get the truth from him.

"I'm not sure," replied the dog demon. "I really don't know. He hasn't liked me for the longest time."

"I take it he was around when you knew Kagome then?" Kanna asked.

"Yeah, he was. It was him, Niko, and Kirara. They were our pets."

"By our you mean?" Kanna poked at.

"Mieoko was obviously Kagome's, Kirara was Sango's, and Niko," he paused and looked up at a cloud passing overhead. "Niko was mine."

"What?" Kanna asked, feigning surprise. "Yours? But Niko hates you!"

Inuyasha frowned, obviously hurt by that statement. "He doesn't hate me, per say. Niko was one of my closest friends. I don't know what happened between us."

"Well, when did he start becoming violent towards you?"

"It was when I started dating your mother."

"Did it ever occur to you that perhaps Niko didn't like her very much?" Kanna watched her father closely. "Perhaps he didn't think she was your soulmate. Maybe he thought someone else deserved you more."

"What are you saying Kanna?" Inuyasha asked. "Niko didn't like Kikyou. Mieoko didn't like Kikyou. Kirara didn't like Kikyou, but that doesn't mean it was because I chose her."

"Did they like her before?"

Inuyasha thought for a moment. Come to think of it, Mieoko had been much more civil towards her before he became engaged with Kikyou. Kirara had been much more friendly with her before then too. Niko had never liked her, but he never attacked her until Inuyasha got together with her.

"Well," he began, "for the most part."

"See," Kanna said with a smirk. "Animals know what's right and wrong for you, dad. Especially these guys. They're one hundred percent pure demon. They're smarter than your average house pets."

They'd made it to the park exit. In the distance they could make out dogs barking and children laughing. Across the street was a pizza place. Inuyasha smiled at the memory. The whole gang used to eat pizza there. The back table was reserved just for them. He wondered if Tito was still the man running the place.

"Want to go grab a bite of pizza?" he asked Kanna.

"Yeah dad, that sounds great," she replied with a smile. She was content. The child knew she had gotten her father back in to thinking about the past. Perhaps, if he wasn't so thick headed, he'd realize he made a mistake with Kikyou. His real soulmate was Kagome. She knew that deep down, Inuyasha still harbored the same feelings towards Kagome, but how could she discover the truth about Kagome's feelings?

**-&-**

"You met Kila?" Ayame asked surprised.

"Yes," Kagome replied with a smile. "She was running after Kirara, who had started a friendly fight with Mieoko."

"Of course," Kouga said bending his arms behind his head as they walked. "Poor Kirri hasn't seen Mio in ages."

"Niko here," Ayame smiled as the two dogs ran ahead. "He sees him everyday."

"Does he…" Kagome trailed off. Ayame looked at her and instantly knew what she was going to ask.

"No," she said simply. "He doesn't come around to visit his dog anymore. His daughter keeps him busy."

"Oh," was all Kagome said.

"Well lookie who it is," Kagome said with a smile. She was looking out the window across the street at a young girl

"You know her?" Ayame asked, her face clearly looked surprised.

"Yes," Kagome said as she approached Kanna. "I just met her. She was the other little girl with Kila."

"But do you _know_ who she is?" Ayame asked. Kagome didn't understand the question.

"Her name is Kanna," Kagome said. "That's who she is."

"You really don't know, do you?" Ayame continued.

"Well do you plan to tell me what you're getting at?" Kagome asked now getting a bit irritated.

"Its nothing," Kouga replied. "I wonder if they'll join us for lunch?"

"They?" Kagome asked confused.

"They," Ayame said pointing out the window. "She and her father."

Kagome's smile slowly faded away. She looked at Kanna carefully. She reminded her of someone from her past. The silky hair, sure it was another color, but it still had the same familiar figure as _his_. She had two pointed doggie ears on the top of her head; they matched the color of her hair, pitch black. She has sweet golden colored eyes. She has so many features that reminded her of _him_.

"Kagome," Ayame said.

"She and her father," Kagome repeated as she watched the child and man, no demon, cross the road. "Who?

Before either wolf demon could answer, the dog demons reached the door. The older of the two opened it sending a small warm breeze in to the place. Kagome felt her heart stop. Entering the pizza place was Kanna, and following right behind her was her father, Inuyasha.

"I know who it is," Kagome whispered. Her eyes were wide with shock. "Inuyasha."

Upon hearing his name, he turned to look towards the back table. His heart, unlike hers, did not feel as though it was frozen in place. His heart kept beating, but at an alarming rate. Sitting at their back table was none other than the woman he had not seen in fourteen years. "Kagome," he said. He began to approach the table.

Kagome's world began to spin. All the colors were mixing in with each other, and before she knew it, she was falling into a dark abyss with a familiar hanyou calling her name.

**Author's Note: ** I'd like to thank my soul reviewer. This chapter is for you. Everyone else, if you don't review but simply add my story to your favorites or story alert lists, how will I know if you like it or not?


	3. Pleasant Trip turned Unpleasant End

"_I know who it is," Kagome whispered. Her eyes were wide with shock. "Inuyasha." _

_Upon hearing his name, he turned to look towards the back table. His heart, unlike hers, did not feel as though it was frozen in place. His heart kept beating, but at an alarming rate. Sitting at their back table was none other than the woman he had not seen in fourteen years. "Kagome," he said. He began to approach the table._

_Kagome's world began to spin. All the colors were mixing in with each other, and before she knew it, she was falling into a dark abyss with a familiar hanyou calling her name._

**Chapter Three: The End to a Once Pleasant, now Unpleasant Trip  
**

"Daddy!" an alarmed child screamed. "You killed her!" The child ran to the fallen star.

"Calm down Kanna," Ayame said soothingly. "She isn't dead. She simply fainted at the sight of your father. I don't know whether you should be pleased by that or not, Inuyasha." The wolf rose and lifted Kagome gently to an upright position. Lucky for her, she had fallen to the left where there was still seat space and not to the right where there was only floor. "Kagome," she said gently, tapping the girl on the face. "Wake up honey."

"You stupid mutt," Kouga muttered, eyes falling on Inuyasha. He took in the dog demon's appearance. He looked thinner than the last time they'd met. He had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. His ears drooped slightly, and he no longer stood tall and proud. His sad history was slowly killing Inuyasha. However, at the mention of the words "stupid" and "mutt", part of the old dog seemed to resurface.

"Excuse me?" Inuyasha snarled, almost baring his fangs.

"Yeah, you heard me, _stupid mutt_," Kouga repeated, emphasizing those two words.

"Why I oughta," Inuyasha said making his clawed hand in to a fist.

"Boys!" Ayame said in her reprimanding, motherly tone. "Not in front of Kanna. If you want to go settle something, take a walk. Just be careful because there are two very angry dogs waiting right outside the door, and unless I can wake Kagome up to call them off, you'll most likely be mauled to shreds." Ayame returned her attention to Kagome while the wolf and dog kept going at each other in silent tones. She stared at her practically sleeping friend, wondering what was going through her mind as she sat there…

"_Where am I" Kagome asked. She heard the weird echo in the distance and sighed. Of course, just like the cartoons. She was either dead or asleep, but she was unsure of which. "Okay, lets see, what happened last? I had to go to Japan to settle a few things. I saw Mieoko. We went to the park and I met two little girls. They were really sweet, but what happened after? No, what were their names?"_

"_Kila and Kanna," another voice spoke up. It was very familiar and unpleasant. "Remember now, Kagome?"_

"_You," Kagome turned and faced the voice. Standing before her was the Kikyou from the night of the engagement. _

"_Me," she said with a smile. "Their names were Kila and Kanna. Do you remember what they look like?"_

"_Why are you here?" Kagome asked, glaring at the girl._

"_I'm here to help you figure out what's going on. Now, do you remember or do you not?"_

"_I," Kagome thought. Kila looked like an old friend. Ah, she reminded her of Sango. She was Sango's little girl. Now, Kanna…_

"_Kanna," Kikyou repeated out loud. "Look at her hair, look at her eyes, look at her ears, and look at her face. Who does she remind you of?"_

"_Him__," Kagome said in a hushed tone._

"_Exactly," Kikyou smiled kindly. "Him. Now, why not wake up and greet him." She began to fade away. "I'm sorry, for everything Kagome. I really am." In the distance Kagome could make out someone calling her name, telling her to wake up. Did she want to wake up, though? Would her nightmare continue the moment her eyes opened? There was only one way to find out._

"Kagome, sweetheart, you have to wake up now," Ayame said for the billionth time. "Enough nappy time. It's time you rejoined the land of the living."

"How about just five more minutes," she mumbled as she struggled between falling asleep and waking up.

"No honey, sleep is for later on, now it's time to wake up," Ayame chuckled as she rubbed Kagome's hand. "C'mon."

Kagome sighed and slowly opened her eyes. For an instant she was blinded by the light. Frowning, she rubbed her eyes and looked around. First thing she saw was Ayame, and that was a good thing. She grinned.

"I had the strangest dream," Kagome said looking at her friend. Kouga and Inuyasha froze, watching her carefully. She hadn't noticed them yet.

"What was it about?" Ayame asked.

"Well, the first part was me coming to Japan. That's not a big thing, but then, I dreamt that while I was here, I ran in to some people."

"What people?" Kanna asked, startling Kagome.

"You," Kagome said, eyes wide. "You, it was you!" She looked around and finally her eyes landed on Kouga and _him_. "It wasn't a dream," Kagome whispered.

"It's okay sweetie," Ayame said trying to calm her down. "They were just leaving. The only thing you need to do is call off Mieoko and Niko. Once you do that, they'll be gone for good, I promise." She motioned with her head for Kanna to start making her way towards her father.

"No," Kagome said, gathering her things. "No, I have to go. Mind if I take Niko with me? Of course you don't. It was wonderful seeing you again, Ayame." She kissed her friend on the cheek before making her way towards the door and Kouga. "You too, Kouga," she planted a kiss on his cheek as well. She turned to face the hanyou, his golden eyes had changed so much since she last looked in to them. "Inuyasha," she said simply before turning and walking out the door.

They watched as she leashed the two dogs together and began walking away. The moment she was out of sight, Inuyasha slumped down to the floor and hid his face in his hands. He'd missed his chance to speak to the woman he'd lost fourteen years ago. Fate had given him the chance to talk to her, but he blew it. Perhaps Kouga was right when he called him a stupid mutt.

"It's okay Inuyasha," Ayame said pushing her husband aside and kneeling beside the dog. "You shouldn't mind Kagome. You were the last person she expected to see. The memory of you isn't a very pleasant thing for Kagome. She needed time to prepare herself before she ever saw you again." She lifted the demon's head. His eyes were filled with such grief that Ayame felt her heart shattering. "It's okay Inuyasha," she repeated herself. "Come on, get up. Let's go have a chat, just you and me. Kouga," she said turning to her mate. "Take Kanna for some ice cream or something, okay?"

"Alright," Kouga said, grabbing his jacket. "Let's go kiddo." Kanna took Kouga's hand and walked out with him. She glanced back once at her father sitting on the floor. Things weren't going well.

"Get up Inuyasha," Ayame said once more, rising and offering him her hand. "There are several things you need to know about Kagome."

He looked up at her and nodded. "Okay," he said softly. He accepted her hand and rose to his feet. "Let's go then."

**-&-**

"Uncle Kouga," Kanna began. She was looking at her feet. She felt guilty about the Kagome incident. Had she not spoken, maybe Kagome would not have noticed.

"What is it, kiddo?"

"Was it my fault Kagome left?" She asked.

Kouga looked down at the child. He sighed and thought about it for a second. "It wasn't your fault, exactly. It was more your father's fault. You just caused her to realize that her nightmare had been more than just a dream. It was real, and you were proof of that."

"My dad is her nightmare?"

"Yes, sweetheart, your pops is what she considers as her nightmare."

"Why?" Kanna asked, wondering if he would tell her something she didn't already know.

Kouga stopped walking. His eyes were focused on the child. He looked her over, and seemed satisfied with what he saw. "He hurt her. Not physically, mind you. He hurt her in a much more painful way. He hurt her in a way that no man (or demon) should ever hurt a woman. Especially a woman as sweet as Kagome was."

"What did he do?"

"He broke her heart," Kouga said simply as he began walking away.

"She loved him?"

Kouga laughed. "She loved him like no one should ever have loved that dog. I don't think your own mother loved Inuyasha nearly half as much as Kagome did. Before your mother, the two were an inseparable pair. Wherever he went, she followed, and vice-versa. Everyone knew Kagome was his soul mate. Deep down, even he knew it. He was so close to accepting that fact when your mother showed up. He became blinded by the lust he felt for her. It is a problem we male demons have. There are certain times when we just," he paused and blushed. "Sorry, anyway, as I was saying, he became oblivious to the fact that Kagome held his true heart. In the end, he ended up pushing his best friend away. She's never been able to forgive him for that. I don't think any of us have really forgiven him for it."

"But you all act like friends," Kanna pointed out.

"He has you to thank for our friendship. When your mother died, we felt awful for him. See, we hadn't really spent much time with him once Kagome left. Then your mother died, and Inuyasha was in every sense of the word, alone in this world. He had you, but he didn't know how to raise a child. That isn't something you learn in vet school. Regardless, we slowly came back to him to help both you and him out. Haven't you noticed though, you and I are on better terms than your father and I are with each other?"

"Yeah," Kanna said, her head hanging low. Her father had really screwed up. If it weren't for her existence, he'd be alone.

"Cheer up kiddo," Kouga said patting her on the head. "Don't worry about your pops. All that matters is that you have a bunch of people that love you, and you've met one of the world's top celebs. You're set for life. Now, what flavor would you like?"

"Strawberry."

**-&-**

Ayame and Inuyasha walked out of the restaurant linked arm in arm. She was resting her head on his arm as they walked. From other's standpoint, they two looked like a cute couple taking an afternoon stroll. They walked in to the park and found a bench under a large tree.

"Inuyasha, what do you know about Kagome?"

The hanyou was thrown off guard by the question. "What do you mean what do I know?"

"Just spit some stuff at me, let me hear what you know of my best friend starting from the moment she got on that plane and left, or even the months leading up to that event."

"Well," Inuyasha began. "She'd become distant from us. She always used to come up with lame excuses as to why she couldn't join us. Then, suddenly, she just avoided me completely."

"When did this happen?" Ayame asked.

"After the engagement," Inuyasha stated. He remembered that night as though it had happened only yesterday…

"_Guys," Inuyasha said tapping his wine glass with a fork to get everyone's attention. "I wanna say thanks for joining us tonight." He looked at Kagome, "It means a lot to me." She smiled at him. "The reason I asked you all to join us tonight for dinner, was because I wanted to share this moment with you." He now looked at Kikyou. "You know I love you, right?"_

"_Yes," she replied with a small smile._

"_You know I would do anything for you, right?"_

"_Yes," she replied again, her smile growing._

"_Would you be willing to spend the rest of your life with me?" He pulled out a small box from his pocket. "Kikyou," He opened it to reveal the most beautiful engagement ring ever. "Will you marry me?"_

_Kikyou and Kagome gasped in unison. He heard Ayame clap her hands together, he assumed it was from the surprise and hoped that it was happiness as well. He felt the eyes of both Kouga and Miroku land on him. His eyes were only on Kikyou though. He did notice how she looked away from him. Her glance seemed to freeze over one person in particular, Kagome. He couldn't understand why she would hesitate. His heart began to break as he realized that perhaps she wasn't ready for commitment. _

"_Yes," Kikyou replied suddenly. "Yes!" She threw her arms around his neck. "Of course I'll marry you!"_

"_Congrats," Inuyasha heard Kagome speak. She was smiling at him, but there was something wrong with her smile. It wasn't the "Kagome smile" he knew and loved. "You two were meant for each other."_

_Ayame left, claiming she had to use the ladies room. _

"_Thanks Kags," Inuyasha replied smiling at her._

_Just like that, Kagome announced that she too would be leaving. It was getting late._

_. "I'd better get going." Kagome stood up and said her goodbyes to everyone. She walked out the door; everyone just watched her. A shiny, new, black BMW pulled up in front of the restaurant and she climbed into the driver's seat as the valet boy got out._

"_That's her car?" Inuyasha asked surprised._

"_I did know she had a car," Kouga said._

"_She came in that?" Miroku asked._

"_We wouldn't know," Sango said. "She was here before everyone else." She got up. "I think I'm going to go too." She gave Miroku a kiss and walked out._

_Inuyasha, Kikyou, Miroku, and Kouga were left sitting at the table. "Do you think we all should get going?" Kouga asked._

"_Yes," Miroku replied. "It's been an exciting day. Congrats to both of you." He rose and left; Kouga followed soon after._

_Kikyou and Inuyasha were the last to leave. He drove her to her dorm and walked her up to her room._

"_Do you think Kagome is still awake?" Inuyasha asked. _

"_Most likely," replied Kikyou. "At least she better be. I forgot my keys." She knocked on the door. At first she heard nothing, not even the dogs. Then there was movement. The door failed to open though. "Kagome, will you please open the door." She waited, but nothing. Then, she heard the pounding on the door and the fierce growling from two angry dogs on the other side. All the noise caused several of the girls to come out of their rooms to see what the ruckus was. _

_One of the girls, a blonde pushed Kikyou aside and knocked on the door. "Kagome, shut those two up would ya."_

"_Shut them up yourself," came Kagome's reply. She was standing across the hall in another room, blanket draped over her shoulders. She walked passed Inuyasha, Kikyou, and the blonde and kicked the door. The two dogs fell silent instantly. "Next time, remember your keys," she said before turning and going back in to the other room. Everyone else quickly followed suit._

_Kikyou and Inuyasha were left standing out in the hall on their own, lost at what to do next. Just like that, the door slowly opened. Inuyasha looked in and saw the two sets of eyes watching him from Kagome's bed. _

"_Should I stay the night?" He asked her, feeling that for the first time, those two dogs could be a threat._

"_Please," Kikyou said._

_Inuyasha closed the door behind them, and the two spent the night together._

"I heard about that," Ayame said. "Yeah, had you not stayed with her, I think the dogs would have killed her that very night."

"Why though?" He asked.

"They hated her for what she had done, isn't that obvious?"

"What did she do?"

"Oh Inny," Ayame laughed. "You really are thickheaded aren't you? She stole you away. She stole the one thing Kagome ever loved wholeheartedly away. Then you," Ayame chuckled humorously. "Oh you, blind to everything but what your manhood wants. You couldn't see Kagome suffering. She didn't say anything because she loved you. She loved seeing you happy, but it hurt her. It hurt her both body and soul. You finally wanting to be committed to Kikyou, in everyway, is what sent the poor girl over the edge. Kagome had a strong heart, but that was the last straw."

Inuyasha looked up at the blue sky. "Do you know what the letter said?" He asked, randomly.

"I have an idea," she replied and rested her head on his shoulder. "Inuyasha, you screwed up big."

"Yeah, how do I fix it?"

**-&-**

Kagome walked away, dogs at her heels. Both boys remained silent as Kagome mumbled incoherently to herself.

"Why? I should have known," she muttered. "My luck, she looked just like him. I should have…" She turned a corner and found herself right back where she had started. "Damn," she said.

Mieoko tugged softly on his leash, trying to get her attention. He succeeded and she looked down. He rubbed his black, furry head on her hip. Niko did the same.

"Thanks boys," Kagome said placing a hand on each of their heads. "Today has been one of those 'I-wish-I-weren't-here' type of days. I think I want to go home."

Niko tugged on his leash as he attempted to begin the walk home. Kagome, assuming he knew the way, let him lead. She was surprised when he stopped in front of an ice cream parlor. All three stood outside and looked in. Sitting at the counter was Kouga and Kanna. Kagome looked down at Niko, "Why?" she asked. On the other side of the glass, both Kanna and Kouga looked up. Kouga had a smirk on his face as he motioned for her to come join them. Kagome chuckled and motioned to the dogs. He insisted and all three walked in.

"Kagome," Kouga greeted. "Didn't think I would be seeing you again so quickly. It's been what, ten minutes?"

"Hardy-har-har," Kagome said, playfully smacking Kouga on the arm. "Mind if we join you?" She asked Kanna. Kanna nodded and Kagome took her seat on the other side of her.

Kanna had made her realize that her dream was much more, but she shouldn't take it out on the poor child. It wasn't her fault that her dad was a complete bastard. In fact, she was merely another poor soul suffering because of his stupid mistake.

"I'm sorry Miss Kagome," Kanna mumbled.

"What for sweetie?" Kagome asked, stepping out of her train of thought for a moment.

"Had my dad and I not shown up, your stay in Japan would not have been ruined. I am so sorry," she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Oh honey, no," Kagome said putting an arm around the child. "No, it wasn't your fault at all. My stay hasn't been ruined. Look, Kouga is treating me to ice cream." She grinned. Kouga frowned but ordered her the ice cream anyway. He knew what she liked. "I got to meet you and little Kila. I have my good ol' buddy back," she said motioning towards Mieoko. "My stay has been far from ruined. It had an unpleasant moment, but every trip has one. Don't blame yourself for it." She gave the kid a one armed hug. "Think you want to help me finish this?" Kagome asked, pointing to the monster sundae coming her way.

"I think I can fit a bit more in my tummy," Kanna laughed.

As all three ate the ice cream (Kouga included), young Kanna thought. It was obvious her father had feelings still for Kagome. However, the way Kagome treated her father it was as though her feelings of love had turned to feelings of hatred towards him. Was there no chance for them?

"You okay Kanna? You seem kind of frozen," Kagome said, poking the child. She giggled.

"Sorry, brain freeze."

They all laughed and continued eating.

&.

That night, as Kagome sat in the backseat of the car, she thought of her day. It had started out as a good day. How was it that her wonderful day was ruined simply because a stupid dog had managed to cross her path? Then again, she got something good out of her day. In fact, she got more than one good thing. She met Kila, a sweet kid. She met Kanna, although regretfully she came with a filthy mutt. She saw her close friends, and managed to steal away Mieoko's good friend.

She smiled at the thought. She had Niko. Niko was her new dog now. Both dogs sat on either side of her, heads sticking out of the windows, enjoying the cool night air as it sped by. They were both going with her back to the states. Yes, there had been come complications regarding their traveling papers, but money goes a long way in this world. Now, they would be sitting with her in first class on the 9:00 pm flight back to Los Angeles.

Her phone rang, it read _Ayame_:

"Hello," Kagome answered.

"_Where are you?"_ Ayame's voice answered.

"Um, I'm in the car on the way to the airport. Why do you ask?"

"_We've been looking for you. We all wanted to get together before you left. You know, like good ol' times?"_

"All?" Kagome asked, raising her brow quizzically. "Define all," Kagome said.

"_You know," _Ayame said vaguely before continuing. _"You, me, Kouga,"_ she quieted down.

"That's it?" Kagome asked, knowing very well that wasn't.

"_Sango, Miroku…"_ she trailed off again.

"Thanks for the invite, but you know I can't nor would I have gone. I'm on my way to the airport to go home. You hear me, HOME! I will not go to dinner with old friend, though I love you more than life itself, but I have been through enough hell today to last me a lifetime."

"_I know Kags, but some people just really want to see you. You know, you really should give us a chance. You'd like where we are going."_

"I can assure you I have a very good idea of where you chose dinner to take place, and let me tell you right now, that is cruel. No, it is beyond cruel."

"_Come now Kagome, you know that's not why we chose that place. It is our place for fancy eating. It always has been, and even though you have had some unpleasant memories there, most of us haven't. The world doesn't revolve around you."_

Kagome sat motionless in the car. Her best friend had just smacked her across the face with those words. Kagome knew it wasn't all about her, but Ayame should have known that that particular restaurant had too many painful memories for Kagome.

"Good-bye" Kagome said and made to close her phone.

"_No, Kagome, wa-"_ Ayame's voice was cut off by the click of the phone.

"It's so nice to be going home," Kagome whispered to her dogs. "We're never coming back, you hear me," she looked at one dog to the other. "Never," she wiped the tear from her eye. "It isn't worth it."

&.

"Damnit," Ayame said looking at her phone. The call ended. She threw her phone angrily on the floor.

"Ayame?" Sango asked. She was dressed in her black dinner dress, similar to Ayame's. "She said no, didn't she?"

"It wasn't even that she said no. It was more of a 'I would never' go with you, especially since _he's_ going. Except it wasn't even like that. I just stupidly got irritated because she didn't want to come, but I didn't mean too." Ayame sighed. "She's on her way to the airport. She's going back to the States."

"I see," Kouga said. "We should follow her."

"Excuse me?" Sango said looking at him as though he had just grown an extra head.

"She will not come with dinner to us, so let us take dinner to her."

"I don't think she would appreciate that kind gesture," Miroku spoke up. "Besides, some of us are less fortunate and cannot afford to just up and leave."

Ayame smiled. "Though that spontaneous act would be fun, I don't think it is the wisest thing to do at the moment honey. We should let her go home and cool down a bit. We'll all get on with our own lives as well. This visit in to the past has been fun, but we really should keep it just that, a visit. No need to stalk our friend. When she's good and ready, she'll come back to us."

"What if she doesn't?" asked Inuyasha.

They all looked at him. At first they couldn't tell if it was a rhetorical question. She would never not come back. She always returned. Sure, they usually did not see her when she did stop by (with the exception of Ayame and Kouga), but she still always came back.

"She'll be back pops," Kanna said latching herself on to his arm. "I know she will."

They all smiled. Kouga mad a move for the door and held it open for Ayame. They had made reservations, so they might as well make the best of their evenings. One by one they all filed in. Inuyasha was the last one. He looked down the street. The airport was a ten minute drive away. If he ran, he could make it.

"Don't" Kouga said, coming up to him and putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let her go. Ayame has got something up her sleeve. So let's handle things her way."

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry for the VERY LONG wait. You waited so long only to have a short chapter. I am truly sorry. I'm trying to balance too many things at once, and this unfortunately doesn't take priority in my life. HOWEVER I have not forgotten you. Next chapter will be up BEFORE I graduate xDDD Hopefully sooner.

If you read, REVIEW! Please. Thanks.

Inny


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